


Star Wars: The Last Jedi (or, What Could Have Been)

by saltylikecrait



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, The Last Jedi
Genre: Action/Adventure, Blood and Injury, Canon Rewrite, Character Death, Character Development, F/M, Family, Force Ghosts, Force Visions, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Lightsabers, Missions, Other, Plot, Space Battles, The Force, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-08
Updated: 2018-07-22
Packaged: 2019-03-01 09:48:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 77,856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13292280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saltylikecrait/pseuds/saltylikecrait
Summary: A rewrite ofStar Wars: The Last Jedi.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I haven’t touched fanfiction in about seven years, however, my disappointment with _The Last Jedi_ inspired me to get up and write this. While some things might be kept the same, I have decided to take liberties based on my original theories of what was going to happen and try to make improvements on the character arcs.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey asks Luke Skywalker to help the Resistance. Luke realizes that Rey isn't what she first appears to be. The day is full of disappointment.

_Location: Ahch-To_

She held the lightsaber out to him like an offering, a plea for help. Her arm trembled and she tried to steady herself in order to appear calmer than she actually was. For a weapon that was not heavy physically, the burden it had placed on her made it feel like it carried a great weight. Or maybe she was just exhausted after going up all those stairs. She had found the climb to be tiring and her ankles were now starting to feel a little sore.

Rey supposed it could have been a combination of the two.

She wondered where she would be now if she had never found the lightsaber in Maz Kanata's castle, if it had never called to her or if her abilities in the Force had never awakened. Perhaps she would have convinced Finn not to leave and then they would have taken BB-8 to the Resistance and decided where to go from there. Maybe after some thought, she would have left with him to the Outer Rim. Perhaps Kylo Ren would have never taken her to Starkiller Base and Han Solo would have not died… and Finn... Perhaps she wouldn’t have left Finn while he was still comatose on D’Qar...

But there was a time and a place to think about what-ifs. This was not one of those times.

Across the rocky clearing of Ahch-To, Luke Skywalker stood before her. He was not what Rey had expected, though to be honest, she didn’t exactly know what she was expecting, just that he wasn’t that. Although he was General Organa’s twin brother, his scruffy appearance and tired, haunted eyes made him seem as if he were a decade older than her. It seemed that in the five years alone on the island, Master Skywalker had fully embraced the hermit life.

The galaxy's last hope was not the heroic figure she had imagined, but Rey knew almost better than anyone else that looks could be deceiving.

He looked at Rey with questions burning in his eyes, but he still did not speak. However, he did reach to take the weapon from her. She gingerly passed the lightsaber – his father’s lightsaber, she was told – into his hands and watched as he quietly inspected it. And then, almost in disbelief at what he was looking at, he looked at her again with an expression that said he now had even more questions.

He still did not speak and neither did she. The only sounds around them were of waves crashing against the island and the occasional squawk from the creatures that inhabited the island. Rey didn’t know exactly how to breach the silence, but she summoned up her courage to speak.

“Master Skywalker? I’m from the Resistance. Your sister, Leia sent me. We need your help.”

“Who are you?” he asked. His voice sounded a bit hoarse, like he hadn’t used it much in all this time. She doubted that those large-eyed avian creatures that she had seen in groups around the island were very good conversation partners.

“My name is Rey. The Resistance sent me.”

He furrowed his brow. “They sent _you_? What’s so special about you? Where are you from?”

Rey was a little taken aback by this. She thought maybe he would ask where she got the lightsaber or if his sister was alright first.

“Nowhere.”

“No one’s from nowhere.”

She shrugged. “Jakku.”

A small grin appeared on Skywalker’s face. “All right, that pretty much is nowhere. Why are you here, Rey from Nowhere?”

Rey’s patience was starting to wear thin. The general did not mention that Master Skywalker was hard of hearing. Or perhaps he simply did not bother to listen to her?

“The Resistance sent me,” she repeated. “We need your help. We cannot stop the First Order without you.”

“You are not answering my question,” Skywalker retorted. “Why are _you_ here, Rey?”

She paused and took a deep breath. She took a moment to find the right way to explain herself.

“Something inside me has always been there. But now it’s awake. And I’m afraid. I don’t know what it is or what to do with it. And I need help.”

Skywalker sighed. “You need a teacher,” he said. “I can’t teach you. I will never train another generation of Jedi... It is time for the Jedi to end.”

“Why?” Rey’s mouth opened and closed as she struggled with his answer. “Leia sent me here with hope. If she was wrong, she deserves to know why. We all do.”

“I already told you. It’s time for the Jedi to end.” He looked down at the lightsaber one more time… 

And then he tossed it off the cliff behind him, like he was just discarding a piece of junk.

Rey gasped and ran to the cliff’s edge to look to the ocean below, but the lightsaber was out of sight. She looked back to Skywalker in utter disbelief and then back down to the ocean.

Why would he do _that?_

She was beginning to feel like she was on a fool’s errand. If he didn’t want to train her, that was one thing, but tossing the lightsaber off the cliff? She needed that lightsaber. If she ever had to face Kylo Ren again, she at least wanted the weapon so that she could have a chance at protecting herself.

 _I can’t swim,_ she thought. It wasn’t like Jakku was rich in precious resources like water. Though the waves were calm, the ocean looked very cold and very deep; hardly a good place for someone to make their first attempt at swimming. She looked down the cliff side, around the nests of all the peculiar avian creatures and piles of stray feathers here and there. There did not seem to be any sort of a safe, natural path leading down. Maybe she could walk down the stairs and around the island to where it fell and see if it landed in shallow water?

_Or maybe…_

She reached her hand out and closed her eyes. She concentrated on the Force as Maz once instructed her. And then with her mind, she grabbed and pulled…

...And the lightsaber emerged from the sea and made its way back to her open hand.

She caught it. The lightsaber felt cold in her hands and beads of water dripped from it, dampening her skin and her spirits. Angered, Rey turned back around to go back to the _Falcon._ She was going to get Chewbacca and they were going to come back and drag Skywalker to the Resistance by the beard if they had to.

But when she turned around, Master Skywalker was standing frozen as he looked at her with an expression of pure shock.

“You are… strong with the Force,” he commented. “Unusually strong.”

“Well, I learned that trick from your nephew.”

Skywalker’s face paled a bit. “I see. So, you’ve met Ben…”

“Can’t say it was a pleasant meeting.”

“Is he still…?” Skywalker waved his mechanical hand around his face, making a gesture that Rey understood as indicating a mask.

Rey frowned. “A murderer? A monster?” she supplied.

“I suppose that answers my question.”

A large dark figure appeared behind Skywalker, emerging from the old and worn stone stairs that led up to the cliff. Skywalker jumped and turned around.

 _“Chewbacca?”_ he asked slowly, his eyes were wide.

Chewie growled with a nod.

“He said you’re coming back with us,” Rey translated.

“Wait,” said Skywalker. “You can understand him?”

“Jakku scavenger,” she admitted. “You pick up on a couple of languages when trading with off-worlders.”

“Ah,” he said, because that _did_ make sense. “How did you find me?”

“Long story,” said Rey. She nodded her head in the direction of the stairs. “We’ll tell you in the _Falcon._ ”

“The _Falcon?_ ” he said with an undertone of fondness. Then he looked back at Chewbacca with a sudden sense of new awareness.

“Wait,” he stopped. “Where’s Han?”

* * *

By the time Rey and Chewbacca had explained everything that happened in the last, oh… five years or so, it was nightfall. Rey was very glad that the _Millennium Falcon_ had heat because the air was very cold and damp here and her outfit provided her with very little protection against the climate and the wind. She would have to look through the small bag of clothes that Leia had packed for her. Perhaps she could find a jacket in there.

R2-D2 had been incredibly happy to see his old master again. Master Skywalker’s approach to the _Falcon’s_ ramp had been the first time that Rey had seen the old droid roll down it at top-speed. R2 had not left Skywalker’s side since.

Rey supposed it was nice that at least someone could be happy today.

Master Skywalker was now sitting solemnly at the dejarik table. Taking in five years of news, of war, of happy moments, of sad moments, of death, in the span of a few hours was probably not easy. Skywalker took the news of Han’s death probably the worst, he paled and had to sit down when he found out that Han’s own son had been the one to kill him.

“Han loved Ben more than anything in the world, except Leia,” he had whispered. “He offered his son forgiveness and…” Skywalker had gone quiet.

After grabbing a blanket out of a supply closet to cloak herself in, Rey sat down at the dejarik table across from him and next to Chewbacca. 

“There is no light left in Kylo Ren,” Rey broke the silence. “He’s only getting stronger. The First Order could control all the major systems within weeks. We need your help. We need the Jedi Order back.” She paused. “We need Luke Skywalker.”

Skywalker looked up from the point on the table he had been staring blankly at for the last couple of minutes. “You don’t need Luke Skywalker,” he growled. “Haven’t you been listening to anything I have said? I couldn’t help my own nephew… I couldn’t protect my own students… What makes you think I could help you or the Resistance?”

“Leia—"

“What did you think was going to happen here? You think I came to the most unfindable place in the galaxy for no reason at all?”

“Then why did you leave a _map_?” Rey exasperated.

He stopped; went quiet for a moment and then took a deep breath. “I didn’t leave a map for anyone. Lor San Tekka and I searched for the location of the first Jedi Temple for years. We brought our information together and pieced the map together. That’s why there were two fragments. He had one piece, I had the other.”

Another disappointment, then.

…This day seemed to be leading up to be one big disappointment.

Rey was once again not sure exactly what she had expected, but this was certainly not it either. She had thought maybe the map had served a purpose, like he had left it for Leia if she truly needed help. Then again, now that she thought of it, would a brother leave his sister one piece of a map and then leave her to search the entire galaxy for the other half if he had wanted her to find him? 

But Rey still had more questions that hadn’t been answered yet. She was desperate for some answers.

“I have a question for you,” she finally said. “This island. I know it.”

“Built a thousand generations ago to keep the sacred Jedi texts,” Skywalker grunted. “Just like me, they’re the last of the Jedi Order." He stopped and observed her; observed her face and her visage. "You’ve seen this place. You’ve seen this island,” he concluded.

“Only in dreams,” Rey replied in a whisper.

Master Skywalker stood up and grabbed for his shawl. It was obvious that he was preparing to leave with haste. “Well, I’d hate to disappoint you, but you won’t find much here. Force users see this island in visions from time to time," he quickly explained. "The island’s connection to the Force is substantial. Your dreams were nothing special. I still will not teach you.”

“But—"

“Chewie, it was nice to see you again, old friend, but I think you and Rey here should pack up and take back off to the Resistance tomorrow. If Leia needs help, she surely can’t spare you two for that long.”

Chewbacca growled something angrily and too rapidly. Rey could not translate fast enough, but she understood that the Wookie was not happy the old Jedi. R2, meanwhile, was following behind Skywalker and uttering beeping profanities of his own. Rey had been shocked at first to hear the droid curse with every other sentence, but after spending eight hours on a trip with him, she was already use to it.

Skywalker left the _Falcon_ and stepped out into the darkness of the night. Rey was about to follow after him, but Chewbacca held a furry arm out to hold her back.

[We’ll try again tomorrow] Chewbacca told her. [If he doesn’t come around, I’ll just lock him in one of the bunks and we’ll be on our way.]

Rey sighed with disappointment, but she took it as a good sign that her companion wasn't too worried. “Okay, Chewie. I’m exhausted anyway. Good night.”

After Chewbacca growled back a good night, Rey slumped into the bunk that she had claimed for herself in the crew quarters and bundled up more in her blankets. She still wasn’t use to sleeping on the flat mattresses of the bunks, but she did find that they were far more comfortable than that hammock she had slept in for years on Jakku.

She checked the ship’s messages one more time and sighed when she found there were none. She kind of hoped that at least someone would have sent an update on Finn’s condition.

It would have been nice to have some good news today.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Jedi must come to an end YEET!
> 
> I have, in fact, personally been to Skellig Michael, where Ahch-To was filmed. I went in 2013 on my first trip to Ireland. I am in pretty good physical shape, but I found that on some of the steeper areas of stairs, I needed to rest from time to time. My ankles were killing me by the end of the day :O


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Resistance evacuates. Poe gets some payback. Everything goes terribly wrong.

_Location: Resistance Headquarters - D'Qar_

In a moment that felt out of time from the chaotic activity on the base, Commander Poe Dameron and his loyal astromech droid BB-8 watched a pair of medics move a stretcher on wheels towards an evacuation transport.

Poe and some of his pilots had stayed behind to help out with the evacuation in any way they could, but they knew that soon they would have to get into their craft and help in space above the planet. Some transports had already been launched out and it sounded like they might run into trouble soon. General Organa had sent a team of A-wing pilots out ahead to try to keep the First Order occupied, but they were terribly outnumbered and the odds did not look so good for them at the moment.

The general’s quick order to proceed with evacuation protocol when the news that D’Qar was the Starkiller weapon’s next target broke had probably saved countless lives, but the First Order knew where they were and they likely were going to arrive soon.

Poe and BB-8 stood by as they caught a glimpse of Finn on the stretcher, almost unrecognizable beneath the transparent material of the bacta suit that he had been placed in.

Dr. Kalonia had declared Finn as stable, but he was still in critical condition. That lightsaber wound cut deep. If it just had gone through a little further, Finn either would have never been able to walk again or have died on Starkiller. Kalonia decided that a bacta suit was necessary for him and moved him to the _Raddus_ where she would be to continue to care for him.

General Organa would also be on the _Raddus,_ as would Poe so that he could take orders from her directly. He felt a little better knowing that he could at least still check on Finn when he could. Maybe when they got to a safer place, he and the general could try to send that Rey girl an update about Finn’s condition. BB-8 was also worried about her.

While Poe did not get a chance to speak with her in all the evacuation disorder, but he was part of the group that saw the _Millennium Falcon_ off. Poe had noticed that Rey was very upset that she had to leave Finn so quickly after they arrived, but she had understood how important it was for her to find Luke Skywalker.

Rey was taking on a very important task for the sake of the Resistance. The very least Poe could do was send her updates on Finn to maybe ease her mind a little.

His comm crackled. 

_“…Poe?”_ the general’s voice came in.

“I’m here,” he answered.

_“We’ve picked up on some more First Order ships and fighters. Mostly TIEs. I need you and your pilots up there.”_

“Copy that, General.”

A low _boom_ sounded. It sounded like bombs were striking the hills to the north. But with each new explosion, the unmistakable noise and rumble from the ground seemed to grow closer and closer.

Then, a hangar erupted in flames. Poe placed his hand in front of his face to shield his eyes from the flare of explosion before he turned around and sprinted to _Black One._

He ordered his squad to get into any starfigher craft that they could find. If anyone found that they were without a fighter, they would report to Poe and then find the closest evacuation officer for further orders. The Resistance was too low on help to begin with and Poe wanted to make sure that all of his pilots were accounted for. It was hard enough for him to let the group of A-wings, led by Lieutenant Tallie Lintra, to go on without him, but they insisted that they were up to the job and the base needed as many hands that could be spared to help.

He and BB-8 hurried. Poe nearly jumped into the cockpit as his droid rolled up to get picked up by the copilot position. Poe hastily activated the controls to get everything started.

At least now, Poe could join them. He readied himself. The thought of the next battle made his stomach curl in anticipation.

* * *

_Location: Space, Above D'Qar_

Oddly enough, Poe had never felt safer than when he was flying. Well, except maybe when he a boy and was flying with his mother. 

Her wedding ring was on a chain around his neck and secured under his flight suit. He touched the ring beneath it fondly and said a short prayer to her. His father had given him the ring shortly after he had joined the New Republic Starfleet as both a keepsake from her and maybe as a ring to later give to his partner of choice. In a way, Poe considered the ring his good luck charm. It seemed that when he did not wear it, a mission would somehow go wrong. 

While at first the Resistance was only worried about some smaller First Order vessels and TIEs, they were now surrounded by a whole fleet of Star Destroyers. Considering how it was only about a day after the First Order took heavy losses on Starkiller, Poe found this a very bold move on their part. But he knew that the First Order had scattered their fleet around the galaxy and the Resistance really had no idea exactly how large it was. It seemed that the First Order’s idea was to create a blockade to prevent the remaining Resistance craft from escaping and then take them out one by one. 

From what intel had been collected during the Resistance’s mission to the Atterra System just days before Starkiller fired on the Hosnian System, blockades were a staple of the First Order’s military strategy. However, in this case, the First Order had no interest in draining D’Qar of its resources. This time, the goal was total annihilation of the Resistance. 

Just a day before they had lost a brilliant woman. A veteran Rebellion fighter that had defected from the fallen Empire years before; someone whom Poe had great respect for. Along with her daughter, she had managed to get the plans for the First Order’s dreadnoughts to help the Resistance take them down. Her daughter survived and had managed to get the plans to the general just in time. 

Poe took it upon himself to make sure that Iden Versio’s sacrifice did not go to waste. 

The group of bombardiers that had just returned from the Atterra mission accompanied the A-wings. They were ordered to assist using whatever knowledge they had gathered about them in the last couple of days. Poe had commed the _Cobalt Hammer_ while he was making his way to them. Between the intel from the pilot, Finch, and the gunner, Paige Tico, Poe believed that he had a decent idea about what they were up against. He unfortunately did not have the time he would have liked to look over the schematics of the dreadnought. 

Poe had a plan, but he wasn’t entirely sure if he needed the bombardiers. They would no doubt be of use if they could down the dreadnought, but the Star Fortresses were slow and unable to properly defend themselves. They relied on the starfighters to have their backs. It wasn't an ideal situation, but the Star Fortresses were all that the Resistance managed to secure that could carry and drop bombs. 

But the Resistance was depending on them; depending on _him._

He deployed the pivoting gun of his X-wing and began to fire on any First Order craft that came into his range. It was obvious that the Resistance was terribly outnumbered here and he needed to help take down as many enemy targets that he could to try to lessen the odds. 

All around him, Poe could hear shots being fired and watched as streaks of green and red blasts flew past him and towards other craft. Here and there, Resistance and First Order ships were shot down and briefly illuminated the darkness of space with flames. 

Still, Poe flew on and aimed to take out the fighters that were threatening the fleet. The bombers were not very good at taking out fighters themselves, so they relied on the X-wings and A-wings to escort them safely to their destination. 

It wasn’t until a _massive_ Star Destroyer emerged from space that Poe was beginning to feel a little nervous. He had faced down First Order Star Destroyers before, but never a mega-class. He wasn’t sure why that Star Destroyer was brought in, but he guessed that the reason was nothing good. 

But Poe had a idea.

He maneuvered _Black One_ towards a more familiar ship, the _Finalizer._ From what intel they had, it was likely that General Hux was on board, overseeing the blockade.

[I have a bad feeling about this,] chirped BB-8 from behind him.

“Happy beeps here, buddy, c’mon,” shouted Poe. “We’ve pulled crazier stunts than this.”

“Just for the record, Commander Dameron, I’m with the droid on this one,” General Organa’s voice cracked over the comms.

“Thank you for your support, General.” Poe grinned under his helmet. “Happy beeps,” he repeated to his droid as he moved _Black One_ in the _Finalizer’s_ line of sight.

He flicked a switch on the cockpit’s omnipickup. “Attention. This is Commander Dameron of the Republic fleet,” he changed his voice to sound more authoritative. “I have an urgent communique for General Hugs.”

There was a brief moment of only static, and then— _“This is General Hux of the First Order. The Republic is no more. Your fleet are Rebel scum and war criminals. Tell your precious princess that there will be no terms, there will be no surrender.”_

Still as snobbish and arrogant as ever. Poe noticed that the First Order had ceased firing at him. He knew that meant that Hux was expecting a deal from the Resistance - a surrender in exchange for sparing the lives of the Resistance. Well then, Poe was going to have some fun with him. Payback for his hospitality back on the _Finalizer._

“Hi, I’m holding for General Hugs.”

Over the comms, Hux made a grunt. _“This is Hux. You and your friends are doomed. We will wipe your filth from the galaxy.”_

“Okay, I’ll hold.” Poe smirked.

_“Hello?”_

“Hello? Yup, I’m still here. Can he hear me? Hugs?” From outside, Poe could see a few of the bombers making their approach to their target.

_“He can.”_

Poe grinned. “With an ‘H.’ Skinny guy. Kinda pasty. I can hear you. Can you hear me?” He flew a bit closer to his target. “Look, I can’t hold forever. If you reach him, tell him that General Organa has an urgent message—“

 _“I know you're just tooling with me,"_ Hux stated flatly.

“—about his mother.”

_“OPEN FIRE!”_

That was his queue. “Beebee-ate, punch it!”

The little droid bleeped excitedly behind him and helped Poe give _Black One_ the push it needed away from the incoming attack. If all went to plan, the blasts would hit the dreadnought in the opposite direction of him.

However, they weren’t quick enough to evade one of the blasts. An electrical jolt pulsed through the X-wing. BB-8 groaned, as he tried to shake off the shock. _Black One_ whined from the impact.

When the droid recovered, he did a systems check – first for him and then for fighter.

No serious damage for him. The droid beeped in relief. But then after doing a check on _Black One,_ he found damage to its weapons systems.

[Friend-Poe, the weapons systems are down,] BB-8 announced. [I will try to fix it as fast as I can.]

In the cockpit, Poe whooped as he watched the evaded blasts hit the wrong target – well, the right target to him. The blast did not hurt him, but it did push _Black One_ forward with a jolt and he fell forward a little in his seat from the force of it. “That’s got a kick.” But the confusion that the blast had caused left them with an opening. He flicked another switch on his comms. “All right, taking out the cannons now. Tallie, start your approach.”

 _“Copy that,”_ replied Tallie over the comms.

Her A-wing swooped in. With teamwork, she and Poe were going to take out the surface cannons on the dreadnought to protect the rest of the squad. The A-wings were too small and at too close of range for the large First Order craft pick them up on radar. However, they could still fire the cannons and land in hits. Poe and Tallie would disable the ship from attacking while the rest of the starfighters distracted the First Order craft while the bombers made their assault. Luckily, the schematics told them that the First Order dreadnoughts were a bit like TIE fighters: more maneuverability (a rarity in larger warships) at the cost of shields.

From behind them, a group of five TIEs emerged. BB-8 chirped at Poe in warning.

“Yeah, yeah. I see them.” He tried his cannons but they were still down. “Beebee-ate, how’s it coming?”

[Almost, friend-Poe.] BB-8 was growing nervous as he watched the TIEs grow closer. But just a little more…

Poe looked back over at his squad. "Bombardiers, get ready. Paige," he commed. "You're the closest."

But there was no response.

"Paige?" he asked, feeling a little worried.

Then to his relief, she responded. _"Sorry, sorry!"_ She sounded a bit winded and rushed. _"I was just- Well, I'm ready now."_

[Done!] announced BB-8.

Poe fired at the TIEs and made contact with one. With a lack of shields on the fighters, it exploded immediately. The other pilots available in the area were also helping out while Tallie went for the cannons on the underbelly of the dreadnought. The bombardiers were preparing to hit the dreadnought from above and hopefully damage the ship to at least temporarily disable it. The bombs had electromagnetic chips installed so that when they dropped, they would be drawn magnetically to their target. However, the Star Fortresses needed to move away quickly once the bombs dropped. Unfortunately, there had been incidents throughout history where bombs were accidentally drawn back to the ship that had dropped them originally, instead of hitting the intended target.

Poe swooped in and started helping Tallie out with the cannons. With each successful hit, the cannons exploded in a blast of fire and debris.

He took a deep breath as he watched the first of the Star Fortresses drop their load, with Paige Tico's bombs taking the lead. Once all the bombs dropped, the Star Fortress moved away as quick as it could.

The bombs struck true, too, hitting the dreadnought with a destructive amount of firepower. The lights in the hit area flickered before shutting down to black. With any luck, they should have done enough damage to keep that dreadnought from causing any more trouble.

“General, an opening has been made,” he reported. "Paige," he cheered. "You did it!"

With an opening finally made, the Resistance fleet zoomed out of the gap and away from the blockade. Poe whooped as he watched the ships escape one by one.

 _“The last transport is in the air,”_ General Organa informed him. _“The evacuation is complete. You did it, Poe!”_ He could hear a smile in her voice. _“I’m sending your squad coordinates so we can get out of this place.”_

“Copy that, General,” he replied. “Good job squad, let’s get out of here!”

The Resistance squadron positioned themselves to leave through the gap. Poe was about to make it through when…

“Fighters incoming,” announced Tallie.

 _“Snubfighters at two-ten!”_ reported Finch from the _Hammer._

Poe rotated _Black One_ around and saw a large group of First Order fighters.

One of the A-wings was shot down within seconds of detection. But before Poe had any time to process who he just lost, however, he found himself fighting off a TIE that had targeted him.

“Hold on, buddy,” he warned BB-8.

He maneuvered his X-wing to make a vertical loop that would place him behind the TIE. This gave him a clear view of the fighter, which he immediately shot down.

[Friend-Poe,] chirped BB-8 urgently, [the cannons…]

Poe looked out his window and saw that the First Order’s mega-class star destroyer was charging their auto-cannons. They had to hurry up their retreat and get out of range or…

“I see them!” he shouted. “Tallie, they’ve targeted the fleet and begun the priming sequence!”

“Copy that,” she said. “We’re almost there. Bombardiers...”

The bombers had suddenly found themselves surrounded by TIEs. In the ambush, the squad had lost their position of defending the Star Fortresses…

All four of them were hit and went down. One right after the other. It happened in an instant...

He lost so many people in just moments…

“No… Oh no, no, _no!”_ He held his hand up to his helmet in disbelief.

But Poe had to make a call. If he wasn’t quick enough, he was going to lose even more people.

There was still the gap they made in the blockade. The TIEs were still behind them, but so far, Poe could not pick up any on either side. They had a clear path.

“Everyone, get out!”

At full speed, his entire remaining squad headed straight for the gap. Poe remained behind to watch as some of the A-wings made it out. He saw one of the X-wings get shot down to his right.

“Hurry!”

The remaining twelve starcraft managed to get out. Poe hovered around the area, wide-eyed with shock, to do a headcount and be there to fight off any TIEs that got too close to his retreating teammates.

All the Star Fortresses were gone. That was fifteen lost. Two A-wings downed and…

“Poe!” General Organa growled, interrupting his thoughts. _“I want you and your squad on board the_ Raddus _now! We need you to get out of there!”_

“On our way!”

He flipped a couple of switches, which made _Black One_ hum as it prepared to make the jump into hyperspace.

“All teams, this is Black Leader,” he said into the omnipickup. “Coordinates confirmed. We’re moving out.”

Poe made one last glance at what was left of his squad. Far too little a number, in comparison with what they had originally left with.

He grimaced while a tear slid down his cheek. It may have very well been his poor planning that had gotten all the bombardiers killed. If there was one thing that Poe wanted to avoid at all costs, it was needless sacrifice.

And if Poe was upset with this turn of events, General Organa was probably going to be even more upset.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew. I’ve never written a battle scene like this and I had no idea how to write it so I used my imagination with a little guidance from a leaked script and _Cobalt Squadron._ I decided to try to make some shout outs to _Battlefront II_ and _Cobalt Squadron_ because both had direct tie-ins to this scene. I hope it’s not too terrible.
> 
> Poe was so out of character in _The Last Jedi._ I had a feeling that this was going to happen after reading some interviews a couple of months before the release, but I had no idea just how bad it was going to be. I hope that this can revert him a bit back to the character he was in _The Force Awakens._
> 
> Does anyone else hope to see more of Zay Meeko and Shriv? Maybe even some more tie-ins featuring Iden Versio and Del Meeko? I sure do.
> 
> Notes about future chapters: until I get the TLJ novelization in March, I plan to space out my updates by only posting once per month. So after Chapter 3, chapters should start rolling out more frequently. I'm hoping to have at least two per month after that.
> 
> Also, I will not be focusing on First Order characters much until much later in this rewrite. Up to a certain point, I was fine with how Hux, Kylo Ren, and Snoke interacted with each other, so just assume that these scenes are the same.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chewbacca goes fishing and makes a friend. Luke plays hide and seek. R2-D2 makes a cheap shot. Rey learns.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As of right now, I am only planning to schedule chapters once per month. Once I get _The Last Jedi_ novelization and read through it, I'll try to get the ball rolling to post at least every other week. There will be a lot of major differences in the plot and the characterization, however, I want to try to give the conclusion the same outcome in case I have to do a rewrite for IX in the future.
> 
> Note: Edit on 4/2 - it has come to my attention that the chapter was repeating three times. I’m not sure why that is - when I posted it originally, this was not the case - however, it should be fixed.

_Location: Ahch-To_

Chewbacca woke Rey earlier than she had hoped. As her vision came into focus and she became more aware of her surroundings, she noticed that Chewbacca looked like he was getting ready for an outing. Under his arm was a strange-looking pole with a long wire attached to it and a bucket hung from the crook of his arm.

[I’m going to fish for our food,] he told her.

“Is that what the pole is for?” she asked groggily.

[It’s called a fishing pole.] Rey still couldn’t quite translate that term from Shyriiwook into Basic. She’d think about it when she was more awake.

She nodded and then slumped her head back on her pillow, cuddled her blankets closer and then went back to sleep.

When Rey woke again, she grabbed a ration bar (these tasted better than the rations she had on Jakku) and silently wondered what she would do. She wasn’t use to not having anything in particular to do during the day. On Jakku, she had to find something to do or else she might not have eaten for that day. Chewbacca had not returned from fishing, but Rey honestly had no idea how long that could take either. That pole didn’t look like a weapon to spear fish with, so she couldn’t figure out how it would work from just a glance.

She sat next to R2-D2 while she ate her breakfast, contemplating her day. Then, she made up her mind.

“I’m going to go talk with Skywalker again,” she announced.

[He won’t listen to you,] the old droid beeped.

“Maybe, but I should at least try. I don’t need him to teach me, I just need him to come back with us. Besides, we’ve got a little time for patience, I think, and I’m good at waiting.” She sighed. Rey didn’t really want to stick around this island much longer. She wanted to go back to the Resistance. Go back to Leia, Finn, and BB-8.

But she really hoped that the old Jedi Master would cave and agree to teach her. She had no idea that she could use the Force until a few days ago and the only experience she had with them involved Kylo Ren.

The idea that she had such power and resembled that man in any shape or form scared her. She didn’t want the dark side, not after seeing what Kylo Ren had done with it, but she was afraid that without anyone to show her how to use these abilities that she might hurt someone. She didn’t want to hurt anyone, especially those she cared about.

The droid bleeped called his old master an insult that Rey had never heard of. She had noticed that some of the droid’s vocabulary consisted of older slang words and wondered where all R2 had been. Maybe she would ask him later.

She grabbed a dark blanket-like item of clothing from the bag that Leia had packed for her. It looked warm enough for this climate and it was still morning so the temperature might take time to heat up a bit more. Layering seemed like a good idea here. Rey threw the cloth over her shoulders and grabbed her quarterstaff and her bag and headed out of the _Falcon._

Rey looked around outside. The sky was dark gray, unlike yesterday, but the sea was calm. She looked around the island itself. It was a very green island, but not the kind of green that Takadona or D’Qar were. Ahch-To was far rockier and - with the exception of that gigantic ancient tree off to one side - the island was bare of any large plant life.

There was something about that old tree that piqued her curiosity, but she needed to find Skywalker first before she did any more exploration on the island.

She looked up the stairs. When she walked up them before, she noticed a small group of stone huts to the east. It looked like a small village. Maybe that’s where Luke was living?

Yes, Rey decided that was where she was headed for first. That was as good of a guess as any.

* * *

Luke had waited until Rey was out of sight before moving from his spot behind a large stone to approach the _Falcon._ He missed the old freighter, his friends, his family, but he wasn’t going to go back. He came here for a reason, and he still hadn’t found what he was looking for.

Without Rey or Chewbacca to pester him, Luke was able to wander around the ship as he pleased.

He found himself in the cockpit. Though he accepted the fact that Han was gone, he couldn’t help but imagine that he would walk in and Han would be sitting in the pilot’s chair with a little smug grin on his face. “Hey, kid,” he would probably say and probably not mention the time that Luke had been gone or ask why he left in the first place. Han was like that. He knew when to not ask questions.

Glancing around the cockpit, at all the levers, buttons, and switches, created a bittersweet sense of nostalgia in the old Jedi. He looked out to the landscape and thought about the first time he flew in the _Falcon_ all those years ago. A smile spread across his face, one of the first he had made in years, he couldn’t help it.

“…Still a piece of junk,” he said, but with affection.

He heard the sound of wheels behind him and turned around.

“Artoo?”

The old blue and white droid beeped at him in greeting.

“Artoo!” he said again with fondness, and crouched down to be at eye-level with the droid.

[Is this really the location of the first Jedi Temple?] asked R2.

Luke exhaled with a small smile. “Yes, R2. I finally found it.”

Then R2 changed his tone. [You left me.]

“Yeah, I know.” Luke didn’t look at the droid when he said this.

[You could have at least taken me with you, you kri—]

“Hey, watch the language.” Luke chided. Then he placed his hand on the droid. “Old friend.”

[You got to go back to Leia. She needs you.]

Luke sighed. “I wish I could make you understand, Artoo, but I’m not coming back. I haven’t found—"

Suddenly, R2 projected a hologram: the old recording of Leia that started Luke’s journey, saved after all these years.

_“Years ago you served my father in the Clone Wars…”_

“That was a cheap move, Artoo.” Luke was not amused.

Leia was so young here. They were both so young then. He remembered the first time he saw this hologram of her. Luke thought she was beautiful and remembered so how badly he wanted to help her…

Of course, Leia later told him how much she hated that hairstyle. Her attendant droid had insisted on the style even though Leia thought it made her face look fat. When Luke had told her that he thought it had looked pretty, she rolled her eyes because _of course he did._ It kind of ruined the memory, actually.

He missed his sister, and her fire. Out of the two of them, Leia was going to be the one to leave a lasting legacy. After his school was destroyed, Luke realized that he was never going to be able to bring back the Jedi Order to what it once was. Leia at least had a successful career in politics that didn’t undermine her accomplishments from the Rebellion.

The Senate’s reveal of their father’s identity may have harmed that a little. Not all of Luke’s students had trusted him after word got around. A few even left the academy altogether. He wasn’t angry with them; it was their choice after all. He might not have trusted the son of Darth Vader to teach him either. It did destroy Leia’s career in politics though. She still had a lot of trustworthy friends and connections that chose to accept that fact and move on, but it was the reason why many of the New Republic chose to ignore her warnings about the First Order.

From the sound of it, the Senate sealed their own fate by willfully turning a blind eye to everything that the First Order was doing. Luke understood why the Senate wanted to avoid another intergalactic civil war, but ignoring the problem only made it worse.

_“—Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You’re my only hope.”_

The hologram disappeared. And Luke shook out of the brief trance it had put him in.

[If you won’t help Leia, at least help Rey,] R2 said. [She’s scared.]

Luke thought about it. He had never seen someone so strong in the Force like Rey before… Well, except for…

But Rey wasn’t him…

If Ben Kenobi had turned him away, Luke may have never met Han and never rescued Leia. He would probably still be living on Tatooine, trying to run the moisture farm after Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru died in their old age. He certainly wouldn’t have made the shot that blew up the Death Star.

The Empire would have probably won…

Luke sighed. “Okay, Artoo. You got me. But it won’t be for long. I want you gone in three days.”

[Deal.]

* * *

Rey had wandered around the little settlement of stone huts and searched the area around it, but she did not find any sign of Skywalker. She stood at the edge of another cliff and looked down to see if the old Jedi Master (or maybe even Chewbacca) was collecting food along the coastline. All she saw were more nests of those curious avian creatures.

A couple of the little creatures had approached her on her walk up. These ones seemed to be quite young and stared at her curiously with their large dark eyes. They were not afraid of her, it seemed.

She had knelt and held out her hand, but the gesture had scared them away. Rey smiled as she watched them run off, probably back to their family.

…Family.

Rey thought about how she spent every night in her AT-AT. On good nights, she would imagine the day her parents finally came back for her. In her dreams, she would imagine faceless figures holding their arms open for her to run to, finally giving her a chance at happiness after waiting all those years.

_“I’ll come back for you, sweetheart.”_

As she grew older, her dreams became less hopeful. There were nights when Rey believed that she would be swallowed up by a sandstorm, mouth parched from thirst and a stomach pained from hunger long before anyone came looking for her. If anyone did. They would come back to Jakku only to find that the child they left behind was had vanished beneath the sand dunes like all the old ships and machines she had scavenged out of to survive.

She looked around the huts and at the strange amphibious creatures that seemed to live here. They were nothing like the little avian things. Except for the few young ones she spotted, all of them seemed to be female, or at least it looked so judging by their choice of clothing. They were spending their day doing various chores around the settlement: cleaning, preparing food, and washing the linens that made up their clothing.

Ahch-To was nothing like Jakku. Not just in climate and scenery, but also in culture. Jakku felt like a place that was always on edge, like you couldn’t trust anyone lest they swindle you out of a day of food. The air smelled totally different too. Jakku’s air had felt hot, dusty, suffocating… Here, the air smelled clear and clean with a hint of salt from the water and at times a mossy scent.

She had spent her nights wrapped in loneliness and silence while trying to wish her nightmares away. Her days were spent trying to survive off of scraps of musty rations and fighting off the heat of the sun. Between sandstorms, scavenging, the threat of injury and starvation, Rey had found that even in the safety of her AT-AT that she could never truly just rest.

But here, she _could._

After spending fifteen years on that junkyard planet, no one ever came back for her. Even when the opportunities presented themselves, Rey forfeited the chance to get off Jakku to start a life elsewhere in favor of holding out for one more day of hope for a family.

The evening that BB-8 came into her life changed everything. The day Finn came into her life was the first time in her memory that a being had ever showed her kindness without expecting anything in return.

She missed them both. She heaved a sigh as she thought about them.

“Tomorrow at dawn,” came a voice behind her.

Rey startled and clutched her quarterstaff strapped behind her back as she turned around. Skywalker was standing there. She hadn’t heard his approach.

“What?” she asked.

“Three lessons,” he said. “I will teach you the ways of the Jedi and why they need to end. Then, you go back to the Resistance without me.”

She wanted to argue with him, but he was offering her more than what she was expecting. Maybe she could talk him into coming back after all.

Instead, she nodded. “Where should I find you?”

“I’ll come to you.”

* * *

Chewbacca returned hours after Rey returned to the _Falcon_ with a bucket full of fish. In one of his arms, he held one of those little avian critters. It looked scared to her; its large eyes even wider than normal.

“Were not eating—" Rey stared at the Wookie, a little horrified at what she was thinking.

[No,] Chewie replied. Rey sighed with relief. [This one has an injured wing. I am going to help her.] He then held up the bucket of fish. _[This_ is dinner.]

They spent the rest of the evening around a fire as Chewbacca showed Rey how to cook fish. She had never tasted fish before and found that these had a rich taste that she couldn’t quite explain. There were so many new things that she had experienced in the last couple of days that she began to feel overwhelmed by everything.

Chewbacca got on her case for chewing with her mouth open. [Bad manners,] he said. [No one wants to see what’s in your mouth.]

She quickly corrected this and started chewing with her mouth closed. In all the years she spent alone on Jakku, she never had to worry about things like manners.

Since Chewbacca’s large paws were not the best for tending to small, hurt wings, Rey helped him clean a large gash in the little avian creature’s right wing and bandaged it. The creature trembled the entire time, but it didn’t try to hurt her out of fear at least. When Rey was done, the creature cooed at her like she was trying to thank her.

“Do you know what these guys are called?” she asked Chewbacca.

He shook his head in the negative. Maybe tomorrow she could ask Luke to clear up some terminology around the island.

When Chewbacca informed her that he was going to do some work on the _Falcon_ with what tools and supplies they had on hand, Rey asked him if she could help him. The years the freighter spent neglected on Jakku had took its toll on the machinery. Rey knew a thing or two about the _Falcon_ and what maintenance it had actually undergone in the last five years or so; she could be of use to him.

The Wookie shook his head. He wanted to spend time to himself to think. Rey thought she understood what he was getting at: it was his way of processing the death of his best friend.

Deciding to take a nap after checking the _Falcon’s_ messages, Rey found herself disappointed again to see that there were none. The day cycle was different on Ahch-To from what it was on Jakku and even in standard space time. She had only been up for six hours, but now it was dark. Rey guessed that the time it took for Ahch-To to rotate a full circle on its axis took somewhere between 10 and 14 hours (she hadn’t kept note of the time yet). That meant that the days were short and she’d have to find a way to create a sleep-schedule around them.

It would take some adjusting, but Rey figured she could sleep a full six to eight hours every other day and take naps when she was tired. Naps were not really a concept that she was familiar with – no one had time to nap on Jakku – but she was starting to understand the appeal.

* * *

When Rey emerged from the _Falcon_ in the morning, chewing on a ration bar for breakfast, she found that Master Skywalker was already waiting outside.

Of course, he was already there. Rey was starting to wonder if the Force gave him the ability to just appear wherever he wanted on the island. She was pretty certain that wasn’t how it worked though.

“C’mon.” He nodded his head to the stairs.

Skywalker led them through the settlement that she had explored yesterday. Some of the creatures were awake, but not as many as she saw the day before. The sun had barely begun to peak out, but the sunrise was gorgeous.

“Who are those things?” she asked.

“Caretakers. They’ve watched over the Jedi structures since they were built… I don’t think they like me,” he admitted a little sheepishly.

“Can’t imagine why,” Rey deadpanned. “What about those avian creatures?”

“Porgs,” he replied.

He led them up to a cliff that overlook the water as the sun was rising. He sat down and she followed his lead.

“Master Skywaker,” she began. “We need you to bring the Jedi Order back. Kylo Ren is strong with the dark side of the Force. We don’t stand a chance against him.”

He looked at her inquisitively. “What do you know about the Force?”

Rey paused and realized that she didn’t actually know that much about what the Force is, besides what Maz and Ren had said.

“Um… It’s a power that Jedi have? That lets them control minds and make things… float?”

She winced. Just hearing that come out her mouth made her feel stupid.

Skywalker did not look amused. “Impressive,” he said flatly. “Every word in that sentence was wrong.”

Feeling her face grow red, Rey looked down at the ground in embarrassment.

Master Skywalker sighed. “Lesson one.” He pointed to how he sat with his legs loosely crossed. “Sit down, like this.”

Rey followed his instructions and mirrored him.

“The Force is not a power that you have,” he explained. “It’s not about lifting rocks or influencing minds. It’s the energy between all things. A balance that binds the universe and everything in it, together.”

“Maz Kanata told me something similar,” commented Rey. “She said that the Force moves through and surrounds every living thing and that the light… it’ll always guide me.”

Skywalker’s face softened. “You know Maz?”

“She’s the one that gave me the lightsaber. Well, I didn’t want it at first, but…”

He smiled. “I should have known.”

Rey wanted to ask him what he meant by that, but his facial expressions told her not to ask questions about this and to move on in the lesson. “Okay, but what is the Force?”

“Close your eyes,” Master Skywalker instructed. “Breathe.”

She did.

“Now, reach out.”

Not knowing what she was supposed to be reaching out to, Rey tried to recall what she felt in the forest when she fought Ren. It had been such a quick moment, but she believed that she had sought out the Force and it had answered her. She tried to do the same again.

Then she felt that pull again. “I feel something.”

“That’s the Force.”

She couldn’t quite describe the feeling, it was like it was everything and nothing at once. It wasn’t solid or liquid, yet it seemed to flow all around her, like a river of light. She continued to reach for it, to understand it.

“Reach out with your feelings,” said Skywalker. “What do you see?”

Rey concentrated harder until the feeling morphed into words that she could articulate. “The island… Life… Death and decay… which feeds new life… Warmth…”

“Go on.”

The feeling grew colder, it wasn’t unpleasant, just different from what she first felt. “Cold… Peace… Violence…”

“And between it all?”

It seemed like all those feelings suddenly came together as one universal existence.

“Balance.”

But something else was calling to her—

“And this is the lesson,” she heard Skywalker say, though he sounded like he was getting farther away. “The Force does not belong to the Jedi. If the Jedi die, the light will not… Rey?”

“Can you feel that?” she asked him. “There’s something else beneath the island… It’s cold… It’s calling me…”

_“Rey!”_

She remembered feeling something like this before, back in the forest when she was fighting Ren. After she struck him down, something told her to finish him, to kill him.

The dark side…

This was the dark side calling to her, making her promises of power and strength. Answers…

 _Your family,_ it seemed to whisper to her.

 _No,_ she thought. _That is not who I am. I didn’t give into it last time; I won’t this time._

Rey refused its call and emerged from her connection with the Force. She opened her eyes with a gasp.

Master Skywalker looked furious. “You went straight to the dark!” he accused.

“Yeah,” she admitted. “But I stopped. I refused.”

He got up. “I’ve seen this raw strength once before, in Ben Solo. It didn’t scare me then… It does now.” He moved to leave.

“So what? You’re done, then?” Rey growled as she stood up. The look she gave him was of pure spite. “That old legend of Luke Skywalker? The one that you hate so much? Yeah, I believed in it. I came here because Leia asked me to, yes, but I also came here because I thought you could _help_ me.”

His eyes widened, as if hearing this finally made him realize that so many people around the galaxy – children – looked up to him. “I can’t teach you,” he whispered.

“Did you give up this quickly on your nephew? No wonder he went to the dark side! You’re a terrible teacher if you give up on a student after one mistake!”

Skywalker stopped. “No. Leia and Han sent Ben to me when he was young,” he said quietly. The dark had always tempted him and they were worried… He was struggling… They didn’t know what else to do…”

Rey took a moment to calm herself. “What happened?” She wanted to know how a child of Han Solo and Leia Organa could ever become such a monster that was Kylo Ren.

Master Skywalker sighed. “I tried. Really, I did. Ben wasn’t a model student, but he tried, too. Everything went south when the Senate found out that Leia and I were the children of Darth Vader…”

“I didn’t know that.”

“We decided not to tell anyone, except Han. My father was the epitome of the Empire’s terror. He went to the light, in the end, but Leia and I knew that no one would believe this. Leia never forgave him for everything that he did to her either… The galaxy would never forgive him for everything he did; everyone he killed.”

Rey took a moment to process all this. She had never lived in the time of the Empire, but she had heard stories of Darth Vader… If Kylo Ren even remotely resembled his grandfather in power, then…

“You never told him,” she guessed.

“We believed it wasn’t something he needed to know.”

“Do you think he knows now?” she asked.

Skywalker took a moment to reflect. “Yes,” he said simply. “But Snoke has made him believe that my father’s return to the light was a weakness. I know Ben does believe this, actually. Snoke has made him believe that with his training, he is now immune to the light.”

“And now he wants to be Darth Vader.”

Master Skywalker flinched at that sentence. He took a deep breath. “You’re right, Rey. You resisted the darkness. I shouldn’t have reacted that way… I was just… scared… I’ll keep training you.”

“Tomorrow?” she asked hopefully.

“Tomorrow,” he agreed. “Same time, at the _Falcon.”_

* * *

“Still can’t reach the Resistance?” she asked Chewbacca when she arrived in the _Falcon._

[No,] he sighed.

The little porg that Chewie had taken in was sitting in the copilot’s seat. She made her little squawking sound when Rey approached her.

“Will this little one be alright?” she asked Chewbacca. The porg squawked at Rey again as she lowered her hand down to see if the porg would let her touch her. She did, and Rey noted that the porg’s feathers weren’t soft, but waxy in feeling.

[She will,] Chewbacca affirmed. [She just needs to give it time to heal.]

Rey smiled down at the porg. “Keep at it with the Resistance,” she told Chewie. “If you get through, check their status.” She was starting to grow concerned that something had happened.

[I will.]

“…And ask about Finn.”

[Of course. There’s more fish, if you’re hungry.]

* * *

She was back in that interrogation chair on Starkiller. Disoriented, she tugged on the restraints, hoping to pull herself lose to no avail.

Not again…

Hovering above her, Kylo Ren in his dark mask was pointing his ignited lightsaber at her neck.

 _You will tell me where Skywalker is,_ he demanded in his mechanical voice, trying to urge the truth out of her by using the Force.

_No!_

The world felt like it was being pulled inside out. She was pulled away from the scene.

She was back in the snowy woods. The lightsaber was ignited in her hand and illuminated her face in blue light. A maskless Ren was in front of her, poised to attack like a predator waiting to pounce.

 _You’re gonna pay for what you did,_ she shouted at him.

Ren crossed blades with her. Rey’s senses were filled with the buzzing and crackling sounds of the lightsabers meeting over and over. The heat radiating off the sabers and on to her skin was growing uncomfortable. Rey was strong, but Ren was bigger and had far more training than she… She wasn’t sure how long she could hold him off…

In the distance, Finn was lying in the snow facedown, so still that Rey was almost certain that he was dead.

_Finn!_

She felt the ground shift beneath her feet as she struck at Kylo Ren to push him away. She ran to her friend but found that she wasn’t getting any closer to him.

Rey thought she heard someone say her name.

_Finn?_

The world around her crumbled away piece by piece. It was like everything around her was unraveling. In its place, a bright, warm light spread across her entire line of vision. A void of white became her world.

Remembering what Master Skywalker taught her about the Force, she sat down, crossed her legs, and closed her eyes.

She took a deep breath and reached out to the warmth that was surrounding her.

The Force connected everything to her. Before her, shining strings morph into existence. It almost looked like a map with strings stretching in every direction. The strings continued to appear, and eventually, the amount of strings became too overwhelming when she was trying to seek out a specific strand.

But one in particular seemed to call to her. It glowed brighter than all the others. It was like it was trying to get her attention.

She reached for it and hooked her index finger gently around it.

_Rey!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit long because I wanted to spend some time with this one. I think Rey’s story is a rather interesting one and I did not like how Rian Johnson handled her. There won't be another Rey-centered chapter for a while. I believe Chapter 9 will be the next time we see her.
> 
> I don’t see Luke just giving up on the first try if a student is tempted by the dark side, so I wanted Rey to call him out on this. I referenced that passage in _The Force Awakens_ novel about how she realized the dark side was trying to tempt her to kill Kylo Ren during their fight, but she rejected it.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finn wakes up. Poe’s having a bad day. Leia has a feeling.

_Location: The_ Raddus

Across the galaxy, Finn awoke with a gasp and a jolt.

“Rey!”

Unexpectedly, his head came in contact with a panel of glass.

“Oomph—"

He had no idea where he was. It wasn’t the forest, and the unfamiliar room definitely didn’t have the aesthetic of a First Order ship, but it didn’t look like any of the Resistance’s facilities either… All the medical equipment was in a disorganized mess and the beds for other patients were just standard military cots.

The last things he remembered was the cold, snowy ground, the shadow of a slender figure approaching the monstrosity that was Kylo Ren, and his body in agony as every nerve screamed in pain.

And he turned his head side to side to look at his surroundings, scared when he couldn’t find Rey among the injured.

“Rey?” he said out loud, hoarsely and was disappointed when she didn’t answer him.

Maybe she made it out – got both of them out – without injury and that was why she wasn’t there. Perhaps she was nearby and any moment now she would appear and put Finn’s mind at ease.

Finn realized from the briny smell that he was in a bacta suit. He had never been in one before, but he had seen them occasionally used by higher commanding officers in the First Order. Stormtroopers weren’t important enough for large amounts of bacta to be wasted on.

“You’re awake.”

He startled as he looked back in front of him. An older, dark-haired woman stood over the hospital bed that he was laying in. She had kind eyes and a patient, gentle demeanor about her. She looked familiar too…

Oh, he realized, she’s the Resistance doctor… What was her name…?

“Do you know where you are, Finn?” she asked.

His mouth felt dry. He wondered how long he had been out. “No,” he answered.

“We’re on the _Raddus._ Thanks to you, we were able to stop the Starkiller weapon. But our security on D’Qar was breached and we had to evacuate.”

Okay, that explained why it looked like the medical wing had been set up in a spare storage room.

Finn nodded his head. His neck felt stiff.

The doctor moved away from his bed. “I’ll be back soon,” she told him. “I’m going to round-up whoever is left of medical to help me get you out of that suit.” 

…Whoever was left? What exactly happened?

As the doctor moved from his view, Finn thought he saw a familiar round, orange and white droid tilting its head to peek inside the room. But when Finn slowly turned his head in that direction, he found that there was nothing there.

* * *

Poe unloaded a small duffel bag of personal belongings that he managed to throw in a storage compartment in _Black One_ when evacuation was first announced. After checking over the X-wing for any serious damage to report and checking on the squad members that had survived, Poe decided he wanted to get out of his hot and sweaty flightsuit and find a place to clean himself up a bit before reporting to the general.

After a head count, Poe realized he had lost three of his squad and fifteen bombardiers…

As he climbed down the ladder, BB-8 rolled up to him. He had wondered where his droid had gotten to. As soon as he was unloaded from the X-wing, BB-8 had left in a hurry and Poe assumed that his partner was making a report to the technicians for a maintenance request. Now the droid had approached him so excitedly that he almost forgot to brake and nearly rolled right into Poe.

“Hey buddy. Wondered where you’d gone off to.” He smiled as he patted the droid’s dome head. “Well done—"

But BB-8 started beeping in an urgent tone. It was so hurried that Poe only caught a few words of what he was trying to say.

“Woah, slow down, pal!” he said. “Finn. Naked? Leaking? Bag…? Did you fry a chip or something?”

He strung the words together in his head.

Finn was awake. And naked, apparently.

“Finn’s awake!?” Poe asked BB-8, who made an affirmative sound and moved its head up and down to resemble a nod.

Poe slung his duffel bag over his shoulder and bolted from the hangar. He had no idea where the med bay had set up shop, but he figured he could ask someone on the way.

When he had managed to find the makeshift med bay, he skidded to a stop when he found that almost ran right past Finn. 

He was being helped into a sitting position by two assistants as Dr. Kalonia watched.

“How does your back and neck feel, Finn?” she asked.

Finn looked tired. “Stiff and… sore?” he answered. His voice was hoarse.

Kalonia nodded. “We’ll take that suit off and I’ll have a look at your back.”

Poe approached the cot that Finn was sitting on. “Finn!”

He looked up and seemed to snap out of his daze from seeing a familiar face. “Poe!” He made a wide smile.

“It’s good to see you up.” Poe smiled.

“I hate to ruin this reunion, Commander Dameron,” started Kalonia, “but if you’re going to just stand there, can you please help us keep him steady while we get this off? I’m very low on help.”

Poe didn’t hesitate to move closer. “Yeah, yeah!” He held a hand up to Finn’s chest to keep him from getting pushed forward. It took Kalonia and her assistants a couple of minutes to remove the bacta suit, but soon Finn was completely free of it.

Dr. Kalonia looked over his back. “The scar’s going to run long, but it looks like it’s healed enough to not be too worried. I’m going to apply a bandage to it for now.”

Finn looked a little bewildered at this. “Wait. How big are we talking about?

“You took a lightsaber down your _back,_ Finn,” she said. “You’re lucky to be alive.”

She deemed the wound healed enough for Finn to sit up or lay down safely on his back. They dressed him in a hospital gown and with help, he was able to be put into a comfortable sitting position by pushing the cot against the wall.

“I’ll be back in a bit to talk with you about the rest of the healing process, Finn,” said Kalonia. “You and Dameron can chat for a bit.” 

She left the area to give Finn and Poe some time to talk. 

Poe looked over at his old jacket that had been draped over a chair in a corner near the cot. It had burnt slash marks down the back and one of the shoulders… It might be completely ruined, but Poe would look it over to see if he could patch it up later.

“I’ll see if we can find you some clothes to wear,” he commented. “You must have a thousand questions.”

But he realized that Finn was no longer paying attention to him. Finn was looking around the room and scanned the other patients, like he was looking for someone in particular. Poe wished they had dividers to place around the cots to give the patients privacy. Some of them were so badly injured that no one knew if they were going to make it. Medical was so low on supplies right now…

Finn furrowed his brow. “Wait,” he said, confusion evident in his tone. He turned his head to look at Poe. “Where’s Rey?”

* * *

Poe was making his way to the Operations Room where the general was waiting for him. He had dressed behind a screen in the med bay right after C-3PO had located him and told him that the general was looking for him. Now in fresh clothes and his new dark leather jacket – since Finn had his old Resistance flight jacket -- he felt a little clearer in the head and ready to talk.

Before that, Poe had spent the time to fill Finn in on all that he had missed.

He understood Finn’s worry when he realized that Rey was nowhere to be found. The last thing he had remembered was fighting off Kylo Ren while Rey lay unconscious in the snow. If Poe were in his shoes, he would have asked the same thing.

“She fought him off, Finn,” he had explained. Finn looked in awe. “Then she brought you to us.” 

“But where is she now?” Finn had asked.

Poe had taken his time to explain that the general had sensed a great gift in the Force in Rey and sent her to find Luke Skywalker. The map had been complete and they now knew his location. He then told him about the evacuation. 

“She didn’t want to leave you,” Poe had told him. “Really, she didn’t. But we need Skywalker badly.”

“Are you okay, too?” Finn had asked Poe.

Poe was a little taken aback. He was okay, well, physically, but no one had asked him yet today if he was okay. Finn, who had just woken from a medically induced coma had been the only one to think to ask. It seemed just like Finn to do that and Poe felt like he had quickly formed attachment to Finn because he seemed to put others before himself.

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

Finn had searched Poe’s face. “Are you?”

He really wasn’t, but they were in the middle of an evacuation and barely got away from the First Order. There would be time to grieve and heal later…

That was when the general had commed him. Poe promised Finn that he would be back soon. “Maybe we can get a message out to Rey,” he had said.

Finn had looked hopeful.

As much as Poe liked Finn, he thought it was kind of sweet that Finn was so worried about Rey. At the same time, he thought it was pretty sweet that Finn seemed worried about him too.

[Friend-Poe, are you alright?] asked BB-8.

Poe realized that he had been silent the entire walk to Operations and that BB-8 had been talking to him. “Wha—Oh! I’m fine, buddy. Just thinking.”

[What are you going to tell General Organa?] 

“Whatever she wants to know,” he sighed. They had arrived at the door of the Command deck of the _Raddus._

Poe could hear talking from the other side of the door. He took a deep breath and entered when the doors whooshed open.

There weren’t many people on deck, which made Poe cringe. He hoped that in the scramble to get off D’Qar, everyone just jumped into whatever escape craft that they could and that they hadn’t been lost to the First Order fleet.

He walked along the bridge to another door. When it opened, he entered the Operations room with BB-8 at his side.

Like most of the _Raddus,_ this room was monochromatic. It wasn’t very big, but for a small number of people, it was comfortable. Perfect for more private discussions. Lining along the walls were a couple of screens that tracked the status of battles. In the center of the room was a command console that projected holograms to offer realtime battle data. It was one of the most advanced systems that the Resistance was currently in possession of.

The general was sitting in a chair along the console and was talking to an officer. Poe approached to speak with her.

“—Can you get that message to her?” the general asked the officer.

“Yes, ma’am. We’ll patch it through, right away,” he said.

“Good. Thank you.”

The officer walked away, leaving General Organa waiting in the chair. Since the last time he saw her in person, the general had changed into a draping dark gray dress, just a couple of shades away from black. It looked like it was made of a very thick woolen material. It was nice, but a lot different from her usual outfits that she wore around the base.

Poe realized just then that this was a _mourning outfit._ He didn’t forget that Han had died just hours earlier, it was just that in all the chaos of the Starkiller mission and the evacuation, that had been far from Poe’s mind. 

He hung his head and sighed. Han Solo was a good man. Sure, he didn’t really take part with helping his wife with the Resistance until the very end, but when he did decide to help, his efforts were invaluable. Poe had not seen him in many years, but he remembered all the times that Han had visited his father back at home, catching up with his old Rebellion buddies. His favorite memory of Han was when he was a small child, shortly after his mother had passed away, and he was given a tour of the _Millennium Falcon._ A couple of years later, Han had reported the _Falcon_ as stolen and Poe felt a twinge of nostalgia when he thought of the old Corellian light freighter. 

The general looked at Poe and made a gesture for him to sit in the empty seat next to her.

“General,” he greeted as he sat down.

“It’s good to see you intact, Commander,” she said. 

Poe nodded. “I’ve got some bad news, ma’am.”

She frowned. “I’m listening.”

“Technicians commed me on my way here. We’re low on fuel.”

Pursing her lips, the general took this information in. Poe could tell that she was thinking of all the possible problems this could cause and how they could solve the issue. “I’ll inform Ackbar,” she said. “But Poe… What happened out there?”

Since she wasn’t beating around the bush, Poe took a deep breath to begin his verbal report. “Taking out the dreadnought cannons to break the blockade went according to plan,” he started – although that had been a spur-of-the-moment plan. “Our squads were able to escort the bombers safely to their target and they were successful in taking them out and hopefully damage the dreadnought’s systems.

The general smiled. “Yes, good work there, Poe. You saved us from more casualties with your quick thinking. But what happened after?”

He frowned, as he recalled the moment. “We were ambushed by TIEs right then. I was too slow in detecting them. They came up right behind us as we were leaving… I’m sorry.”

She contemplated this for a moment. She was not happy, but an ambush was an ambush. “How many…?” she finally asked.

“Eighteen. All of our bombers, three of our Starfighters…” Poe was trying to keep himself from crying as he thought about it.

“That many…” she whispered. 

“Yeah.”

The general took a deep breath. “Poe, I know what you’re thinking… It wasn’t your fault. They didn’t die because of your failings.”

Poe really did start to tear up now. “I know,” he choked. “I just… It’s been a bad couple of days, General.”

She nodded. “Poe, when we get to a safe place, I hope that you will go to the med bay to talk with one of the counselors. You don’t have to right away, just… when you’re ready to talk about what happened to you…”

“Yes ma’am.” 

“That’s not an order, that’s a request.”

He nodded. “Well, at least there’s some good news.”

“Oh?”

“Finn’s awake.”

The general smiled and nodded. “That is good news. I will go and speak with him when I have time.”

“I’m sure he’ll appreciate that.” He looked down at the bracelet that she wore, noticing it after it had slid a little under her sleeve. “Have you heard from Rey, yet?”

“Not yet.” The general frowned and sighed. “I’d like to get a message to her, to tell her what’s going on, but…”

“But?”

“I’m afraid that anything we try to get to her could get picked up by the First Order. We can’t let them know where Luke is at.”

Poe nodded and stood up. “May I be dismissed, General? I’d… I’d like to go check up on my pilots.”

Her facial expression softened. “Of course, Poe.”

He stood up and nodded at BB-8 to follow him. When he left the room, Leia found herself alone to her thoughts for almost the first time that day.

She looked at her map and the fleet’s current location. As long as the First Order didn’t catch up to them, they should make it to one of the Resistance’s temporary bases soon… 

Leia thought about Luke and hoped that wherever he was, Rey had found him. As much as she needed him to help her and the Resistance, she also hoped that her brother would help Rey with learning to control her abilities. Leia had sensed fear in Rey when they talked about what happened on Starkiller. Rey, it struck Leia, was a very brave young woman with a lot of self-doubt that she was trying to hide from everyone else. Her fear of the Force, of the dark side, reminded Leia so much of Ben when he was a child, before she sent him to Luke.

Thinking about her son, and all the things he had done, made Leia’s heart ache. She had not had time to properly mourn for Han, whom she had just seen hours before… She had just managed to take a couple of minutes to take a breather between the Starkiller mission and the evacuation. In that time, she had carefully arranged her hair into an Alderaanian mourning braid, or at least, the best that she could do herself. Without a styling droid to help her, the braid was difficult to get exactly right.

She wished she and Han would have had more time together, when they finally reunited after years apart. They weren’t always a happy couple – actually, there were many moments when Leia realized that they probably shouldn’t have worked out as a couple at all – but they did love each other and did their best to work out their problems.

Leia just wondered if there had been anything else they could have done to help their son.

Due to some failure, whether as a parent or a teacher or something else entirely, Luke and Leia had lost Ben. They needed to do whatever they could to make sure they didn’t lose Rey too.

* * *

“I’m here to see, Finn,” Leia announced when she walked into makeshift medbay. It upset her to see all the wounded crammed into the spare storage room, but that was all they had. When they got to the temporary base, Leia hoped that all the patients could be given a little more privacy. They deserved that at the very least.

Dr. Kalonia pointed to a cot in the corner where Finn sat. A droid was working him through some exercises to help him get back on his feet. The bacta worked its magic on his back and Finn was expected to be able to walk steadily again soon.

Leia approached him. “I’m glad to see that you’re up and moving around, Finn. You really scared us, Poe and Rey most of all.” 

When Finn saw who had approached him, he tried to stand up, but immediately wobbled on his legs. He reached back to the cot to use to aid his balance. “Ma’am.”

“Sit down, Finn,” she said. “You’re not part of the Resistance yet.”

He did as she told him and Leia grabbed a spare chair to sit in beside him.

“Is there anything you wish to know right now, Finn?” she asked. “I can’t tell you everything, but I’ll try to fill you in the best I can.”

Finn looked at her, his face full of hope. “Have you heard from Rey?”

Leia sadly nodded. “No, but we’ve cut off communications for now. We’re worried that any communications between the Resistance and the Millennium Falcon would be intercepted by the First Order,” she explained. “We can’t let them find Luke.”

His face fell. “I see…”

She reached for his hand and placed her own gently over it. “Rey wanted to stay with you, Finn. I had to convince her to leave.” 

He looked at her face again. She noticed that he seemed hesitant to make eye contact with her and she reasoned that as a former stormtrooper, he had been raised to never look superiors in the eyes. Those helmets weren’t just used to smother individualism.

“Rey is strong in the Force, Finn,” said Leia. “I sent her to find Luke not just for the Resistance, but also I think that Luke could help her. She’s afraid of her new abilities.”

“How’s Rey gonna find us now?” Finn asked.

Leia reached for her left arm and pulled the sleeve of her dress back. She revealed a corded bracelet around her wrist. In its center, a light kept blinking on and off.

Finn looked impressed by this. “A cloaked binary beacon…”

Leia nodded. “To light her way home.”

“Alright, so until she gets back, what’s the plan?”

“We’re heading to a new base,” explained Leia. “One with enough power to get a distress signal out to our allies.”

“And where’s that at?”

“Ever heard of Crait?”

He spent a moment pondering the name. “Nope.”

She smiled. “Perfect.”

Finn gave her a look that told her that he understood exactly what she was getting at. Finn was an intelligent young man, Leia had observed. If he hadn't heard of it, then it probably wasn't a planet that the First Order paid any attention to.

Then, he asked, “When we get to the base, ma’am, would there be a possibility for me to take a transport to where Rey is?” 

Leia arched her eyebrow. “Doubting her?”

His eyes widened and he shook his hands in front of him in a rejecting gesture. “No, ma’am! I’m just… worried about her. I want to help her, if I can.”

“You’re not interested in the Resistance, are you Finn?” Leia surmised.

He thought again for a moment. “I’m not sure… I followed Rey here, really. I never intended to join. I want to get as far away from the First Order as I possibly can… But I’m scared too, at what they could do. It might be wherever I go, the First Order’s influence will be. The only thing I really want now is… Well, I just… I want to make sure Rey is safe, too.”

Leia thought she saw a hint of a blush on the young man’s face, but it was hard to tell in the dim light that made it to that corner of the room. “Finn, whatever you choose, I won’t stop you. It’s your choice to make. I can’t make you fight for the Resistance, but I hope you’ll consider it.

“You saved a lot of lives from what you did on Starkiller. Many of our members see you as a hero. Many of them look to Rey as their hope, too.” Leia placed her hand on his shoulder. “Think about it. If you want to go to Rey, I’ll give you the coordinates.”

His eyes lit up. “T-thank you, General Organa!”

Leia removed the beacon from her wrist and handed it to him. “How about you hold on to this for me?” she said. 

Finn took the bracelet from her and slipped it around his wrist, pulling at the tie to adjust its width to fit him. He looked as if Leia just gave him the most precious thing in the world to him.

…Maybe right now it was.

She smiled again before she stood up to leave. Finn uttered another thank you to her before she began to walk around the room to visit with all the patients in the room.

Many of them seemed to light up when she spoke to them, surprised that she would visit them in such a desperate situation. Leia had her comm on her, so if anything that needed her immediate attention came up, she would know. She made it a priority to try to know the name of every single being on the base that she was stationed at. 

She closed her eyes and felt the room with the Force. Leia was not like her brother, she could not use the Force to will things to her or to fight, but she could feel the Force well enough to understand the emotion of a room. Until her brother had taught her more about the Force, she had no idea that had done so her entire life. The Force allowed her to see and feel all life forms in this room and share in their pain and despair. 

Leia passed by a cot with a heavily bandaged man. It looked like he had been caught in an explosion. He was so badly burned and bandaged that she could not figure out who he was just from looking at him. 

The Force told her that the man was no longer alive.

“Harter…” she murmured quietly.

Dr. Kalonia approached the cot and looked down at the man with a frown. She sighed and made a light wave with her hand to get the attention of a couple of droids, who approached to cart the cot out of the room. 

“Who was that?” asked Leia in a whisper.

“Kell Salis of Inventory,” Kalonia replied just as quietly. “He was burned by a blast as we were leaving D’Qar. I did the best I could do on short notice, but his burns were so severe and we’re too low on supplies. I had an order of bacta on the way but…”

Leia understood what she meant. Bacta was not cheap and the Resistance was always short on supply. They had used what they had on-hand to treat Finn’s wounds, believing that they had enough time to evacuate without too much trouble.

From the way she spotted Finn shifting on his cot uncomfortably, Leia knew that he had heard their conversation. She looked over at him and he looked back at her, straight in the eyes.

His expression was full of guilt and remorse. Leia knew right then that Finn felt conflicted. The Resistance had given him what little they had to save his life, and someone else had died without it. Of course, Finn had earned all the care he received and Leia would have given him that same level of care even if he hadn’t come back a hero. But Finn didn’t understand that. He now believed that he owed the Resistance and Leia hated that. That boy deserved whatever life he desired, whether it was with the Resistance or without it. 

She hoped that he would make the right choice for himself. 

Finn watched as the cot carrying the body of Kell Salis was taken out of the room. He looked back down at the beacon and closed his eyes with a deep sigh as he squeezed his hand around the bracelet. 

Leia had a feeling that in the end, Finn would do the right thing for himself, whatever that was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hated how Leia was portrayed in the film. She would never slap a man that had recently been tortured (no mention of this in the film either, but Rian Johnson admitted that he wrote the script for TLJ long before TFA ever came out so…) I also couldn’t believe that as a Rebellion veteran that had to evacuate bases a couple of times, Leia would be dumb enough to pool all of the Resistance’s resources and personnel on a single base and not have any backup plans for a temporary base.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Resistance organizes rank. Leia has some bad news. Poe has a misunderstanding with his new boss. Finn makes a choice.

After taking account of all the casualties and losses in supplies of the evacuation, General Organa called a meeting to update all remaining personnel and reorganize the chain of command. 

Finn wasn’t deemed 100% recovered, but he wanted to get out of the medbay and asked Poe if he would be allowed to listen in on the meeting. Poe didn’t see why not; General Organa wouldn’t probably be against the idea, since it was obvious that she wanted Finn to become an official part of the Resistance.

So Poe scavenged around for any spare clothes that would fit Finn. Finn’s pants from his old stormtrooper uniform were still in great shape, so he didn’t have to look for a new pair at the moment. He had managed to do a shoddy patch up of his old flight jacket while he was sitting in the medbay with Finn, using large staples to hold everything together. Poe felt embarrassed that he couldn’t do a better job, but really he didn’t have a lot of experience with leather repair. The jacket had meant a lot to Finn though and for that, it was worth saving. Poe would have to do proper repairs later, or at least find someone who could. 

Finn of course, was beyond words, as he had never had anyone give him a gift before the jacket and he had seemed pretty upset to see it in ruins.

With Bollie Prindel’s – the quartermaster and inventory officers – help, Poe found a white shirt, some socks, and a pair of boots that looked sturdy enough for where the Resistance was heading in a cart of clothing that had been left forgotten in the hangar. They looked like they would fit Finn, and they did for the most part, though Finn complained that the shirt didn’t quite fit him the way he liked. Poe promised that when they finally moved to one of the populated Resistance bases later, they would try to find him something more to his tastes.

He realized at some point when walking back to the medbay, that these were almost the same exact Resistance-issued clothes that Poe had worn when he and Finn met back on the _Finalizer._ He wondered if Finn would notice.

But in his new outfit, Finn looked the part of a Resistance soldier and Poe began to imagine how Finn would look in a flight suit or officer’s uniform…

* * *

The meeting was the first time that Finn got to really gauge the situation that the Resistance was in. He knew that the evacuation was rushed and that the First Order had taken out much of their fleet, but when he saw just how small of a number filled the _Raddus,_ Finn had suddenly understood the gravity of the situation.

He and Poe sat on one of the steps that surrounded the deck in a circular fashion. Many of the other pilots sat down to join them.

General Organa stood up at her place on the deck. If Finn had not already met her and known of her reputation from the First Order, he might have been surprised that someone of such a small stature could be so commanding. She cleared her throat.

“Four hundred of us on three ships,” she began solemnly. “That is all that is left of our base on D’Qar. But we still have many others in Resistance locations across the galaxy.

“The plan now is to go to the nearest location that has been designated to be a temporary base in the case of an evacuation. We are en-route to a planet called Crait. It is an uninhabited mineral planet, and a former meeting place of the Rebellion during the time of the Empire. The base has been abandoned for years, but I believe it will serve us well for a short time. I called in help from one of our closer bases to bring supplies and meet us there.”

Finn noticed a couple of members were on datapads, looking up information provided to them about the planet. A small group had a look of relief on their faces.

The general continued. “Once there, we will regroup, reorganize, and send a signal out to our allies. When the arrangements have been made, this group of the Resistance will be reassigned to other bases depending on the capacity and needs of the bases that answer our call.”

Some members looked at each other in concern and worry. Finn understood the feeling. Even in the First Order, soldiers hated the idea of being separated from the comrades, which they had forged bonds with. It would have been like how he would have been saddened to be separated from Slip – there was, until his friend’s death – where he thought Phasma would have tried to do just that. 

He hoped that when he returned with Rey, that he and Poe would reunite and the three of them would not be separated again.

Finn noticed that General Organa was looking directly at him now. Her gaze was sharp, unlike the way she had looked when she spoke to him a few hours prior. Her grief for her husband was obvious, her eyes looked sunken and haunted unlike the last time Finn saw her before Starkiller, but he understood that the general put duty before her grief. She had work to do and even Han’s death would not convince her to set that work aside.

“I wish to also make an announcement concerning our projected time of landing,” she said. “It has come to the attention of Command that the First Order is tracking us.”

A couple of members made startled reactions to the news. Finn, too, had felt his nerves begin to set in. Some worried mummers could be heard behind him.

“We are not sure how, as we have not found any physical tracking devices, but we are taking precautions. Until we have found the source of the tracking, we will be taking an alternate course to try to throw the First Order off our scent.”

Finn decided right then and there that he had to get the beacon away from the fleet. If Rey and Skywalker showed up before the trackers were identified and disabled, they would be in danger. Losing them would mean losing the last hope for the Resistance. Losing Rey might be the breaking point for Finn.

That settled it, then. He was going to pack up a bag of supplies that could be spared and find an escape pod. He’d get the coordinates from Leia or BB-8 and either find Rey wherever she was or find a safe place away from all of this for her to be led to.

“In the meantime, I would like to inform all of you about the new chain of command for the time being. We have all lost squad mates, comrades, friends…”

General Organa named off a bunch of names that Finn found unfamiliar and assigned to them a new rank.

“And finally, I would like to mention Vice Admiral Holdo. She is a dear friend of mine and she will take my place should anything happen to me.”

A woman with styled purple hair across the deck stood up. Finn had never seen a human with that color of hair before. Maybe she was of another humanoid species? He found he couldn’t help but stare. Her demeanor did not strike him like that of a commanding officer. She seemed… gentle and quiet as she stood up.

“Thank you, General,” she began. Her voice was calm, but it did not sound meek. “In every corner of the galaxy, the downtrodden and oppressed know our symbol, and they put their hope in it. We are the spark that will light the fire that will restore the Republic. That spark, this Resistance, must survive. That is our mission.”

General Organa took back over. “Everyone back to your stations. May the Force be with us all.”

As everyone moved to go back to their business, Poe patted Finn on the shoulder. “Hey buddy, I gotta go speak to the Vice Admiral.”

Finn nodded. “Take your time. I’m going to go take a walk.” Which actually meant that he was going to try to find a way off the _Raddus._

He’d try to leave a message for Poe before he left. Finn felt a little guilty for leaving his friend in such a dire situation, but he’d explain why and hope that Poe would understand. And with luck, they’d meet again soon.

* * *

With Finn gone, Poe approach the Vice Admiral. He had been approached by the ship’s technicians about the problem that the _Raddus_ was facing with low fuel. There simply hadn’t been time to transfer fuel reserves to the evacuating ships. It was something that he knew his new superior officer should be informed about and a gesture of willingness to work together.

She was chatting with a group of Resistance members that were all trying to get her attention. Poe waited for a few minutes until the group finished speaking to her and left.

He cleared his throat to get her attention. “Vice Admiral?”

“Commander Dameron?”

“With our current fuel consumption, there's a very limited amount of time that we can stay out of range of those Star Destroyers,” he reported.

“Very kind of you to make me aware,” she said. Her tone was flat. Poe wasn’t sure what that meant. Vice Admiral Holdo was known for being… a little different. Even though she was human, her mannerisms sometimes threw off the recruits.

“If you are next in line to command, you should know this too.”

She nodded with a smile. “I know about the fuel already, but thank you, Commander. Now, back to your post.”

But Poe wasn’t done yet. He wanted to know more. “So, what’s the plan?”

“The plan?” She blinked.

“Yeah,” he confirmed. “The plan. For the low fuel?”

Holdo shrugged. “Leia and I have a plan, but we do not feel the need to act upon it at this point.”

“But—"

“It’s too early to tell, Commander Dameron. So you stick to your post and follow my orders.”

“But I—"

“Dismissed,” she said shortly and walked away from him.

The situation was confusing. The general had never not clued him in on a plan when it did concern him and his squad somehow. Sometimes she needed to run things over with him to see what he thought. And this situation was definitely something that concerned him; it concerned everyone. So why was Holdo not including him?

…Was she angry with him, for some reason? They had met on occassion, when the general invited her to look over operation plans, but he had never gotten the feeling that he had offended her or caused some sort of conflict between them…

He looked over at the general on the bridge, who was talking to a small group from Communications. Poe knew that she was exhausted, but she was obviously trying not to let that show. The situation was too dangerous for anyone to slack off at the moment.

Poe decided that he’d approach her about this later if Holdo continued this attitude. She was he superior officer, yes, but even they needed to make sure that their subordinates were kept in the loop. It was standard Resistance protocol. Failure to follow that created the possibility to create a difficult situation.

He hoped it was just a misunderstanding between them. He knew that at times, others mistook his demeanor for arrogance. He was confident in his skills and sometimes a little impatient, but he would never look down upon another member of the Resistance, no matter what their skill. Everyone had a place here and they were important to the completion of the overall goal of the Resistance: to dismantle the First Order and keep the freedom of the galaxy safeguarded. 

Holdo surely understood this too. She was a long-time friend of General Organa’s and the general trusted her. She had also been a part of the Rebellion decades ago, joining up in her teenage years. Her accomplishments were more than impressive; they were spectacular.

But something still didn’t settle right with Poe. He hoped his intuition was wrong.

* * *

Finn had found a small spare bag and packed a few small bottles of water and ration bars he found lying around. He also snuck into the artillery closet and packed one of the smaller blasters he could find.

He felt guilty for taking these things from the Resistance when they were so short on supplies, but he would at least try to return the blaster after he found Rey. Maybe he could convince her to help him do a supply run, at least to help the medbay.

Finn then went looking for BB-8, whom he found them in the hangar with some of the other droids.

“Hey, Beebee-ate,” he whispered as he approached the droid. “I need you to do me a favor.”

The droid chirped.

“Right, I still can’t understand you.” He removed a data chip from his bag and held it up to the droid. “Beebee-ate, I need you to download the map to Skywalker’s location for me.”

BB-8 tilted his head in question.

“Rey’s in danger if she comes back here when the First Order is tracking us. I’m going to go find her and bring her back with Skywalker when it’s safe.”

At the mention of Rey’s name, BB-8 did his little dance by wobbling back and forth. Finn started to understand this as how BB-8 showed excitement.

“So you’ll do it?”

BB-8 opened a compartment and produced his wielding torch. Finn was pretty positive now that was indeed the little droid’s version of a thumbs up.

Breaking into a huge smile, Finn held out his hand to mirror the gesture back. BB-8 then rolled off, stopped, and looked back at Finn. He took that as a signal that BB-8 wanted him to follow him.

* * *

BB-8 downloaded the map for Finn and showed him to where the escape pods were located before rolling back off to do whatever he needed to do back in the hangar.

He would probably tell Poe where Finn went off to. Finn hoped that Poe would understand and not think he was totally abandoning the Resistance. He would explain later.

At the same time, Finn felt a little guilty for just up and leaving the Resistance. He truly did believe that the cause they were fighting for was a good one, but Finn wasn’t sure if he wanted to be part of that. He left the First Order because he did not want to fight; joining the Resistance felt like leaving one army just to join another.

And he didn’t like how the Resistance either revered him as a hero or looked at him like he was a spy. He understood the distrust - truly he did - but it would be pretty dumb for a First Order spy to just walk up to the Resistance and tell them that he was a former stormtrooper that wanted to join the ranks. The moment something went wrong, he would be blamed.

That thought made him a little nervous about the Resistance too. Would someone try to use him as a scapegoat if the First Order caught up to them? What did the Resistance do to prisoners anyway?

In a way, the idea of finding Rey and trying to convince her to leave all of this with him, was still appealing. She had wanted to return BB-8 to the Resistance – he had also – but if it wasn’t for her newfound Force powers, would she had wanted to stay?

Turning the corner, he saw the row of pods in a darkened space. He went straight for the first one to drop his bag in.

Then he heard an echo of someone crying nearby. 

Finn looked around and found a young woman that looked to be about his age sobbing in the space between two pods. She was wearing a yellowish maintenance uniform and had a small set of tools by her side. Her black hair was pulled back, but it had started to look messy and strands were falling out of place.

He furrowed his brows together. At glance, she didn’t look like she was hurt, but he couldn’t be sure. “Are you alright?” he asked her.

The woman looked up and wiped at her face. “W-what are you doing here?” she asked. She looked a little surprised that someone else was in this area.

Finn realized that maybe going off on his own without General Organa’s official clearance wasn’t the best idea now…

“Hey,” he started. “Hi. I uh… Well, name’s Finn.”

Then suddenly, after getting a good look at him, the woman looked awestricken and wiped her face with her sleeve. “Wait, you’re Finn?” she sniffled. _“The_ Finn?”

 _“The_ Finn?”

The young woman looked embarrassed; a blush appeared across her cheeks. “Sorry, I work behind pipes all day.” She stood up and wiped her sleeve against her face again. “Doing talk with Resistance heroes is not my forte.” She then held out a shaky hand to him. “I’m Rose.”

She was speaking so fast that Finn almost had a hard time following her. She looked as if she were a little short of breath. Finn took a deep breath and gave her a look that he hoped she would understand as a queue to take a deep breath herself. She mimicked his gesture and looked as if she were starting to calm down.

“I’m not a hero,” Finn replied flatly. “But it was nice talking to you, Rose.” He tossed his bag in one of the escape pods. “May the Force be with you.” That seemed like a good enough parting for a stranger.

Rose’s eyes widened. “Woah, you too.” Then she took a deep breath again. “But you are a hero, you know, to the Resistance.”

“I’m not—“

“You left the First Order and what you did on Starkiller… My sister, Paige, she wrote about you in her journal. She said that if there were more people like you in the galaxy, the Resistance would win in the end.”

And then Rose inexplicably burst into tears again.

“Woah, woah, wait…” Finn was really unequipped to handle this right now. He had no idea how to comfort a stranger that was this upset… 

Looking back down at the escape pod, he thought that maybe he should just get in and get ready to go. Whatever was up with Rose wasn’t something he knew he could help with.

Then he heard the crackle of static to his side. 

“Woah!” He jumped.

Rose, still crying, was holding an activated stun gun in her hand. “Y-you know, just this morning, I had to stun three people trying to jump ship in this escape pod.” She sniffled

Finn couldn’t believe what he was hearing. 

She continued. “They were r-running away.”

“Listen, I’m—"

Rose grew closer to him. Kriff, what was she doing? He really didn’t like the idea of someone with a stun gun being that close to him. He just got out of the medbay; he didn’t want to go back because he got stunned and agitated the injury again.

“Stop!” he yelled.

She halted in her steps. “My sister died protecting the fleet. And you’re running away!” she yelled. Tears welled in her eyes. “You’re a selfish traitor!”

“I’m doing this _for_ the Resistance!”

Rose took a startled gasp and stopped. “What?”

Angrily, Finn moved the sleeve of his jacket up, revealing the bracelet that would lead Rey home. He held up his arm and shook his wrist.

“See this?” he asked. “I gotta get this beacon as far away as possible. The fleet is in danger and if my friend comes here, she’ll be in danger as well!” He knew he was red in the face. Finn took a deep breath and calmed himself. “Look, I’m sorry your sister died, but if Rey comes here and Skywalker is with her, the Resistance is done for. Your sister would have died for nothing.”

Rose looked horrified then. “I didn’t know…”

He sighed, it didn't do him much good to continue being angry at her. “No, I know you didn’t. And now, if you excuse me, I need to—"

But then he saw something on the side of the escape pod that caught his eye. It was tiny and blended in with the dark metallic coat of the pod, but Finn knew exactly what he was looking at.

“There’s a tracker on this pod,” he breathed.

Rose jumped. “What?” She deactivated the stun gun and ran over to his side of the pod. “Where?”

“Right here,” he pointed to the little dot.

She ran over to the next escape pod and checked around. “There’s one right here too! Oh, Maker! How did I miss these?”

Finn removed the tracker and held it in his hand. “Check all the pods; remove them.”

They went through and inspected all the escape pods. When they got down the row, both of them had and armful of small trackers.

“C’mon,” said Rose. “Let’s throw these in the airlock and shoot them into space.”

Once that was done, they told everyone in Maintenance what was going on. “Check every transport off this ship,” said Finn. “They were going to track us if we evacuated.”

If he hadn’t noticed the tracker on the escape pod, he might have led the First Order straight to Rey. The thought made him feel a bit sick to his stomach.

“Someone’s betrayed the Resistance,” Rose realized. “But when…?”

Finn thought he knew what she was asking. “It’s likely they sent someone undercover before the evacuation started. Whoever it was, they wouldn’t be with us anymore. They would have rejoined the Order once they placed the trackers.”

“I’ll tell someone to check the ship’s security footage,” said Rose. “Do you think we’re safe now?”

He thought back to his stormtrooper training. They hadn’t gotten training for undercover missions, but he did have to learn how to use a system to track a ship… If the First Order could sneak someone in long enough to place trackers long enough…

“I need to speak with Poe,” he announced. He looked over at Rose, who looked rather pale in the face. “You okay?”

She didn’t answer at first. Instead she took three deep breaths to calm herself before speaking again. “Y-yeah, fine.” Her voice was a little shaky. “Let’s go.”

* * *

“Connix,” yelled General Organa. “Check our systems. See if you can find anything.”

Kaydel Ko Connix and the rest of the personnel in Command were frantically performing checks on the ship’s internal system. Finn had warned them that if someone in the First Order had gotten onto the base on D’Qar, it was likely they had uploaded something to the Resistance’s systems. And not just for tracking, but for collecting intel…

“Packet detected, General,” announced Connix, grimly.

“Can you remove it?” the general asked urgently.

Another couple of minutes passed, but no one had any success.

General Organa turned to Finn. “How do we remove it?” she asked.

Finn thought for a moment. He was not trained in codebreaking and he was pretty certain the only way to stop the tracking was to either have someone remove it from the ship’s system or go to the First Order and remove the tracker from theirs. 

Finding a codebreaker and bringing them here would be the easiest option. 

“We need a codebreaker, one that has knowledge of the First Order’s coding, bring them here and have them remove it from the ship’s systems.”

The general pursed her lips. “You make it sound so easy, Finn… Where are we going to find a codebreaker?”

He found himself staring at the projected map in front of him. He looked at the current location of the fleet and the planets close by. The First Order had millions of contacts in the galaxy: rich, corrupt donors, codebreakers, arms dealers, you name it… If he could just find the right planet…

“Catonica?” he supplied.

Poe, who had been the one to bring Finn to the bridge after he had warned him about the trackers, frowned. “Are you sure about that, Finn? Catonica is really far out from here.” He looked at the map. “Maybe Naboo or—"

“Canto Bight is a major funding point for the First Order. A lot of their wealthy supporters are patrons there. If there’s any place I’m going to find a codebreaker that knows their systems, it’s there.”

“Will a First Order codebreaker even help us, Finn?” asked Admiral Ackbar.

“Maybe. For the right price. I’ll figure it out. I volunteer to go on a mission to Canto Bight and bring back a codebreaker, General. I gotta do this. It’ll save the fleet and it’ll save Rey.”

The general pursed her lip and looked at Vice Admiral Holdo, who was standing next to her. They gave each other a look, like they were communicating with just their eyes.

Poe sighed. “The only problem with that plan, Finn,” he began, “is that we don’t have enough fuel to wait for you to return. Travel time alone would take 48 hours. We’ve only got 18 hours of fuel left.”

“I… err…” Finn moved his arm to scratch the back of his head sheepishly. 

General Organa took the floor this time. “I appreciate the enthusiasm, Finn. Really, I do. Your knowledge of the First Order has brought us intel we would have never been able to obtain on our own.” 

She studied the map again silently. The entire room was silent for a couple of minutes while she made another analysis of the situation.

Then, she spoke up again. “I have an idea. It’s not the soundest of ideas, but it’s the best idea I got.”

The general moved closer to the map and pointed to a yellow marker. “This is us,” she explained. “And this,” she dragged her finger in the air to another planet. “This is Takodana. It’s probably the closet place where a codebreaker with First Order ties could be found.”

Finn perked up. “You want me to go back to Maz?”

The general nodded. “She’d be the best person to help you find one.”

In the short time that Finn had been awake, he had wondered once if Maz had been doing alright since the First Order attacked her castle. He knew that not enough time had lapsed for her to have rebuilt, but maybe she hadn’t completely lost all of her business.

Holdo made a travel time calculation. “That’s much better,” she agreed. “It would only take you about 10 hours to travel there and back. Meaning you got six hours to locate a codebreaker. We’ll need at least another two for him to remove the packets from our systems.”

That wasn’t a lot of time, but that was the best they got. Still…

But then Holdo frowned. “Wait, if the First Order is tracking us, they’ll likely be tracking our escape transports…”

Finn spoke up. “Not anymore.” He smiled. “Those trackers we removed were to track escape attempts. My guess is that your escape transports’ systems aren’t connected to the _Raddus’_ main system because we want to avoid it being used to track us if we have to evacuate, right?”

“Correct,” said the general.

“Then, we shouldn’t have a problem. The Star Destroyers can’t pick up smaller transport on their radars.”

He cleared his throat and tried again. “General Organa, with your permission, I volunteer to go to Takodana and bring back a codebreaker.”

General Organa smiled. “Permission granted Finn, I’ll have a transport readied for you.”

“I’m going too!”

Everyone looked over to the side of the room. Rose, who had come with Finn, but decided to not stick out at Command and stay away from being front and center, was bright red in the face.

“I—" she started. “I helped Finn find the trackers down by the escape pods. I wanna help too.”

The general looked over at Finn. “Well, it’s a good thing Finn happened to be by the escape pods.” 

“What were you doing down there, buddy?” asked Poe.

Finn froze under General Organa’s stare. Her lips twitched in a tiny, knowing smile. She knew. 

“It doesn’t matter why,” said the general. “But it’s lucky he did.” Then she looked back at Rose with a very serious expression on her face. “Are you sure you want to do this, Rose?” she asked. “It’s an awful lot of responsibility…”

Rose first nodded, but then she stopped and looked down at her feet. “I…” she began. “I want to, General. My sister died for this fleet and I… well, I’m doing this for her… for everybody. And I can cloak any transport we take so the First Order won’t see us even if we are close range.”

Finn got the feeling that General Organa knew Rose well enough to wonder if she was up for the task. She seemed to know everyone on the base, even the smallest of droids.

“I know you can do this, Rose,” she said. Her smile was warm. “Paige would be so proud of you.” 

Looking down to the ground, Rose heaved a heavy breath. Finn wondered if she was trying not to start crying in front of Command. He didn’t know her, or know what she was capable of, but if they were going to be partners during this mission, he’d have to learn to trust Rose. If General Organa believed that she was capable, Finn had faith in that judgement.

He just hoped that faith was rightly placed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From here on out, there are major differences between the rewrite and the canon material. I spent hours trying to make the Canto Bight arc work and it just wasn't interesting or made a ton of sense. Since I felt Maz was wasted in TLJ, I've decided to have Finn and Rose go back to Takodana. Some things will be brought over from the Canto Bight arc though.
> 
> Concerning Rose: her characterization will be taken from the _Cobalt Squadron_ novel. There are a lot of differences between her novel counterpart and TLJ counterpart. The novel characterization also leaves potential for good character development. Her set of faults - anxious, quick to blame others, dependent on her sister - and her strengths - genius engineer, resourceful, drive to defeat the First Order - are preferable to me from her movie counterpart.
> 
> I am also facing a little bit of writer's block at the moment with the next three chapters. I have 6 and 7 written, but they need major edits before they can be posted. I'll try to have Chapter 6 up in two weeks, but I don't want to make any promises.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finn is frustrated. Rose grieves. Maz helps.

After another check over the transport’s systems and a check for additional trackers, General Organa gave the okay for Finn and Rose to leave for Takodana. They had to leave in haste; there was little time to waste and the transport wasn’t the quickest thing in the galaxy. Just packing it up took up precious time. 

“I am unable to make contact with Maz,” General Organa said, sadly. “But knowing her, she’ll expect you anyway.”

Rose looked at the general confused, but then she realized that she was probably tapping into the Force. She had a gift with that, knowing who to trust with very little information, having a hunch about something long before it happens. Just a few days before, Rose had witnessed this gift first-hand when the general guessed that Rose had a similar hunch about a refugee from Aterra Bravo. No, Rose could not use the Force to feel his emotions, but she had understood the fear the young man had shown and believe that he wasn’t a spy. That helped the general confirm her belief that the man was telling the truth about the First Order murdering his people.

The Resistance spared them four blasters, two for use on the planet and an additional two for backup. The general hoped that they would not have to use them.

“Find Maz, have her find you a codebreaker, then get back here,” she ordered. 

Rose grabbed a duffle bag full of parts for her signature power bafflers. “We’ve got a while before we get there,” she explained to Finn when he gave the bag a curious look. “I might be able to set it up to hide our transport’s power output in case we come in close range with the First Order.”

Finn was thoroughly impressed and surprised. Now that Rose wasn’t threatening to stun him or accusing him of cowardice, he was starting to warm up to her.

“Are you ready?” he asked her as he entered the transport.

“Yeah,” she said and then grimaced a little. “Well, as ready as I can be.” 

He still knew very little about piloting ships, but he knew enough from his cadet training on how to do a simple pre-flight check. Rose would be the one to pilot; her sister had taught her how to fly ore diggers before they joined the Resistance and she had passed all of her flight simulations a little while ago. Rose had been hoping to start flying the Star Fortresses on missions with Paige.

As the machinery hummed to life, Finn heard a shout from outside the transport and open the hatch door. Standing outside, looking frantic, was Poe with BB-8 at his heels.

“Wait, Finn,” he shouted. “Wait. Take Beebee-ate with you!”

The astromech droid rolled up to the hatch, waiting for a ramp to be lowered or for someone to lift him up into the transport. 

“But don’t you need him here?” asked Finn. The Resistance had lost so many droids in the evacuation. Many of them willingly sacrificed themselves to allow more sentient beings room on what was left of the Resistance fleet. It was pretty upsetting to hear that.

“It’s fine,” Poe replied. “We’ve got other droids to help us out here. Besides, I’ve put a comm link in one of Beebee-ate’s storage panels.”

To demonstrate, BB-8 opened one of his compartments and showed off a small communicator link. Then he drew the compartment back in for safe-keeping.

“You can use that to get in touch with me, wherever you are,” explained Poe. “Anything you say in it will be encrypted and then decrypted when it makes it to our systems.”

Finn was a little at loss for words. After their last adventure, Finn didn’t think that Poe would be willing to let his droid out of his sight for some time. The fact that they were both offering to help with the mission touched Finn’s heart in a way he had never experienced before.

“I—" he struggled to find the right words. “Poe, Beebee-ate, thank you! I really don’t know what to say.”

Poe smiled. “Tell me later. You don’t have much time as it is.”

He helped Finn lift BB-8 into the transport and then patted his friend on the shoulder. “You’re a good man, Finn.” He smiled. “We’re lucky to have you.”

As the hatch began to shut again, Finn waved. “See you soon. With a codebreaker.”

* * *

Thanks to Rose’s quick thinking and flight skills, the transport was able to be maneuvered away from the Resistance fleet without detection from the First Order. While the fleet wasn’t in the same area as the rest of the Resistance, it was close enough to be a threat. Finn had commed Poe to let him know of the danger looming nearby.

“So,” he repeated to himself, “ten hours of travel time and four hours to find a codebreaker.” He sighed. “That’s really pushing it.”

“I’ll say,” said Rose dryly from where she was seated on the floor. She was starting to unpack her tools to work on the power baffler.

Finn watched her with interest. “Can you explain to me how those exactly work?” 

She smiled. “Sure.” And then she went on to explain the different parts of the baffler and what the machinery was used for.

“Basically,” she summed up, “it hides our engine emissions so we’re a little harder to detect.”

“Amazing,” commented Finn. “And it works close range?”

Rose scrunched her nose. “Only within a reasonable distance. It gets to a point that a ship is going to spot a transport no matter what it does to hide itself.”

He looked over her work once more. “Have you ever, you know, tried to do engineering for the Resistance instead of just maintenance?” he asked. “I’m sure Leia would hear you out…”

“No,” she replied quietly, looking away from him. “I stayed on maintenance because it let me work on the same missions as my sister…”

And suddenly, Finn was afraid that he may have asked the wrong question. “I’m sorry,” he rushed. “I didn’t know-"

“No, I’m no upset,” she told him. “It’s just… a lot has happened in the last couple of hours.”

The fact that everything happened in the span of hours and not days made Finn feel very tired and he sensed that Rose might want a little more time to herself. Maybe she was trying to use the power baffler as a way to deal with her grief, or at least provide a distraction.

He looked over at the seats in the transport. They looked comfortable enough. “Hey Rose, I’m going to sleep for a bit. I’m not sure why, but I’m really tired.”

“You just woke up from a coma and you’re probably still healing,” she surmised. Then she suddenly looked shamed. “Finn, I’m sorry I tried to use a stun gun on you. You’re recovering and if I had used that on you, I might have really hurt you.”

“You didn’t know it was me, right?” he reasoned. He was still angry about that, but at the same time, he didn’t want to get into a riff with his mission partner.

“Yeah, but still, you’re not even Resistance, right? I shouldn’t try to force people to stay when they haven’t made a commitment. You’re still not thinking about joining yet, huh?”

Sighing, he took a moment to think. Leia had asked him something similar earlier. She told him that it was ultimately his choice. He never had a choice like this before; stormtroopers never had the choice in the First Order.

It was kind of nice. It was freedom.

“I’m not sure what I want to do yet,” he finally answered. “Just two days ago, all I wanted to do was get on a transport to the Outer Rim and live my life far away from the Order. I wanted to convince Rey to go with me. Now, she’s off on some adventure to find Luke Skywalker and I still kind of want to go find her and convince her to run away.”

For a moment, he thought about the life they could live together. Maybe they could have lived their lives like Han Solo once did, as smugglers that didn’t have loyalties to any particular political regime. It might have been nice. Rey would certainly know how to survive in a life like that. He imagined her smiling as she flew an old freighter to their next destination with him helping her out however he could. He was a hard worker and pretty strong; he could find something to be useful with.

“You really like her, don’t you?”

He broke out of his thoughts. “Huh, what?”

“Rey,” Rose specified. “You’re always thinking about her. I heard a little about her too on the base. Not much. She sounded important.”

Finn smiled. “I hope you get to meet her someday. She’s amazing. She’s also good at fixing ships. You two might have a lot to talk about. Maybe you both can get the Resistance fleet up to standard again.”

“Really?” Rose looked interested.

“Yeah,” he said. He sat down in one of the seats and closed his eyes. Rose didn’t speak again, sensing that he wanted to rest and needed quiet.

Sleep came easy to him.

* * *

He awoke to the sounds of muffled crying.

Finn wasn’t angry with Rose for waking him, but he was frustrated that he only slept for an hour. 

Opening one eye, Finn looked over at her. She was still on the floor with her power baffler, but he noticed that now she had a datapad with her and she was reading something off of it.

Hearing that he was awake when he moved into an upright position in the chair, Rose startled. “Did I wake you?” she squeaked.

“No,” he promised her, though it was a lie. “Are you okay? What are you reading?”

She looked down at the datapad sadly. “Before the Star Fortresses went down, my sister uploaded her journal and sent it to me. Paige didn’t even finish her last sentence…”

“I’m sorry, Rose.”

“You know,” she began, “in the last entry, Paige mentioned you.”

Finn was surprised, and his facial expression reflected that. Why would someone that he had never met before be writing about him?

“I guess she heard about you from the pilots when they were heading up to the blockade. We didn’t get a full debriefing before we were separated. Paige and I had a mission together before the evacuation…”

She scrolled through some entries until she found one that she was looking for. “Look,” she told him. “’Finn’s a real hero,’” Rose quoted her sister. “’He knows right from wrong and doesn’t run away when things get hard.’” She looked at him with accusation. 

He met her stare. “Not part of the Resistance, remember?”

“You’re still a hero,” she pointed out. “Maybe you don’t think that about yourself, but many of the Resistance definitely think that you are one.” Rose gathered the power baffler. “I’m going to try to install this little monster,” she told him. “There’s not much to do otherwise.”

Finn shrugged. “You’re right. Maybe I’ll try sleeping again…”

It was better than staring out into space for another eight and a half hours, at least.

* * *

Hours later, when they finally reached Takodana’s orbit, Finn looked out the windows to the green planet below. It was probably the most beautiful world that he had ever visited, even when set ablaze by the First Order.

_I didn’t know there was so much green in the galaxy._

He recalled how hearing the wonder in Rey’s quiet voice tugged at his heart. Of course a girl living on Jakku her entire life would not know of the beautiful scenery that the galaxy had to offer. Finn had only seen a handful of worlds himself and often found that new landscapes took his breath away.

Finn hoped that wherever she was, it was green.

Rose slowed the transport down. They landed in a clearing between a large cluster of trees, providing them with enough cover until they returned. Maz’s castle no longer towered in the distance.

“Let’s make this quick,” said Rose.

He didn’t expect Maz to be waiting for them. Having only been a couple of days since the First Order attacked, her castle was still in ruins. Rebuilding was underway, however. Groups of large aliens and droids were moving debris away and salvaging what could still be used. The landing that had been crowded on his last visit sat empty except for a couple of small freighters that obviously belonged to some very loyal customers or passerbys that had not heard the news of the attack.

They found her picking up bricks and moving them over to a pile for one of the droids to pick up later. As short and old that she was, Maz Kanata could only pick up one brick at a time, but despite that, Finn could tell that she was determined to rebuild.

At their approach, Maz turned around and adjusted her goggles. She smiled. “I thought you might come back,” she said. “But I did not expect to see you so soon.”

“How are you holding up, Maz?” Finn asked.

She frowned. “The First Order brought down most of my cantina, but the basement was untouched. I can still stay partially opened. Rebuilding will take time.” She looked at Rose then looked around them, as if trying to locate something else. “And where is that girl?”

“Rey?”

“Yes.”

“She went to find Luke Skywalker,” he explained.

Maz’s lips curved into a slight, pleased, yet mysterious smile. “I’m glad to hear that. They could help each other.” She turned to Rose. “And who are you, child?”

“Rose Tico, m’am.”

“Maz,” began Finn. “Rose and I are here because the Resistance needs your help.” He then explained everything that had happened since Starkiller. When he got to Han’s death, he was surprised that Maz already seemed to know that he was gone, though she did look very sad at the mention. She didn’t comment on it further.

Instead, she adjusted her goggles again, making her eyes look enormous, and looked at Finn closer. “Ah, yes,” she commented. “I see those warrior eyes still.”

“I’m not Resistance yet, Maz, if that’s what you mean,” Finn told her. “I’m not really sure if that’s what I want.”

Maz smiled sadly. “Someone like you does not have to be involved. You’ve already been through so much. You owe nothing to anyone.”

He looked at her incredulously. In the last couple of days, he had been so involved with either fleeing the First Order or helping the Resistance, he hadn’t quite weighed all of his options. And really, must he keep fighting? He was a soldier all his life. He never had the freedom to do what he wanted; he only had the option to follow orders. 

And as Maz said, he owed nothing.

He wanted to help the Resistance right now with their problems. Poe was on that fleet. He genuinely thought Leia Organa as a great leader and didn’t want to fail her. And Rey was going to go back to them, too.

And then the thought struck him: if he volunteered to take this mission and General Organa gave permission, did he just sign himself up with the Resistance? And if he succeeded and decided he didn’t want to stay, would they let him? Rose certainly didn’t seem to like the idea of anyone leaving… but were volunteers forced to stay?

“Will you help us?” Rose asked.

Maz smiled. “My dear, I will do what I can.”

Rose’s smile was bright. “Thank you! Do you know a codebreaker? Is there one around here?” She looked around the rubble and construction.

The cantina owner’s smile widened. “You’re looking at her.”

Finn and Rose looked at each other with disbelief, then back down at Maz.

“Hard to believe?” she commented. “I haven’t always been here. I smuggled cargo and searched the galaxy for treasure longer than either of you were even a thought. Longer than your parents’ and grandparents’ lifespans.”

“That’s why you read people so easy,” Finn guessed.

“When you are as old as I am, there is very little that others can hide from you.” She smiled again. “You’ve come a long way. Just a few days ago, you were the young man with eyes that told me you wanted to run. Now, you have the eyes of a man that wants to fight.”

Rose’s face went a little red, like she was angry. “Wait,” she said. “You were going to run away?”

He shrugged. “Things were different then. When you know what the First Order does to traitors, hiding seems like a better option.”

“That’s cowardly,” she spat.

Finn glared at her in earnest now. “At the time, I didn’t think I had a better option. Then I met Rey, and for the first time I had someone to fight for. I’m here with you now, aren’t I?”

She huffed. “You know more about the First Order than the rest of the Resistance. People are counting on you. If you were around much earlier… Stop pining over Rey.” Rose turned away and walked off.

Finn and Maz watched her head towards the forests. “Hmm…” Maz pursed her lips.

He sighs. “She and I have been butting heads, Maz. She has expectations or something that I don’t live up to. Then she gets angry and I need her to help me get a codebreaker back to the Resistance. I would think that she wants the same… I don’t know what to do.”

“You both come from very different places,” Maz observed. “Different experiences. But… I sense great pain within her.”

“Her sister died today,” he told her.

Maz nodded sadly. “Yes, that would be a part of it. But I think there is something else that troubles her. Something deeper.”

He looked back to where Rose disappeared to. “Should we go after her?” he asked.

Maz shook her head. “No, give her time. Go inside,” she told him as she shooed him towards the remains of the castle. “Get some food and tell the chef it’s on me.”

* * *

Rose found herself wandering around the trees around the castle as she marveled at the scenery. Takodana was a very beautiful planet. It was nothing like the other planets that she had been on. Nothing like D’Qar, green but with large gaps of rolling hills and flat meadows. Nothing like Atterra Bravo and its acidic oceans. Certainly nothing like home either; ice and ore.

She missed home, but home was gone. The First Order saw to that.

Rose had thought that by being an ex-stormtrooper, Finn would have understood her pain and anger. He knew that a large number of the Resistance had come from planets that the First Order targeted, right? As a stormtrooper, he would have seen how the First Order had murdered planets just to fuel their Star Destroyers and populate their ranks.

Her parents had given their lives to smuggle their children off Hays Minor. She and Paige had likely been too old for the First Order to even consider taking in. 

At the thought of her sister, she began to cry. Rose had never been separated from Paige for more than a couple of days and now, somehow, she would have to live the rest of her life without her sister by her side. She would never get to stare out into the vastness of space and plan a future with Paige again, sleep beside her, or serve on a bomber with her again.

And, to her horror, a part of her wished that she had decided to stay on the _Cobalt Hammer_ during the evacuation and remained with her sister in those final moments.

The thought of being alone scared her and her fear consumed her, made her body tremble and her mind think the world was closing in on her. Yet in her grief and fear, anger lurked under the surface of her suffering.

Rose wanted to make sure that the First Order would pay for what they did.

She came across a clearing where she spotted a couple of transports off to the side. Someone was mowing the field down into a circular pathway. Sentients were at work, but Rose wasn’t sure what for.

Upon approaching one of the transports, she spotted a creature secured inside and began to openly weep.

The creature was tall and furry, with a gentle face and eyes to match. 

A fathier.

Her sister had always wanted to see one in person. Ever the animal lover, Paige had consumed volumes and datapads and holos of information dedicated to life around the galaxy. But she loved the fathier the most, and the prestige of the fathier on the racetrack. Paige had even created a fathier racing game for the members of Cobalt Squadron to play while traveling.

Reaching behind the bars of the holding cell that the animal was housed in, Rose let the animal smell her hand and she carefully touched its muzzle. It was soft, like velvet, and almost comforting to touch.

If Paige had survived for just a few more hours, she would have gotten to finally see her favorite creature.

After realizing that the crew of the transports were setting up a racetrack, she understood that Maz must have held races for the smugglers that frequented her cantina. Betting likely brought in more currency for her.

And then Rose wondered if these fathiers were rightfully owned by this crew and the thought of that made her angry again. It seemed that lately when she wasn’t sad or afraid, she was angry. She had a lot to be angry about.

“You have been hurt and disappointed too much and in too short of a time,” a low voice said behind her.

Turning around, she found Maz sitting on a crate of supplies and looking at her pointedly. Rose did not hear her approach or settle on the crate. She sniffed and tried to wipe the evidence of her tears away.

“I don’t understand why Finn wouldn’t want to fight the First Order,” Rose admitted. “He helped us destroy Starkiller…” She trailed off and sniffed again. Paige would have been so disappointed to find out that Finn wasn’t as great as she believed. “Before we came here, he wanted to run away. That’s-“

Maz slid off the crate and approached her. “You mistake fear for cowardice.”

“What?” she looked down at the old cantina owner.

“Tell me,” said Maz, “has he ever wanted to run away without a reason to?”

She thought about it and the more she thought, the more she realized that no, Finn had never wanted to run away without a reason. And often, his reasoning was very logical. He was afraid of the First Order because as a former stormtrooper, he knew better than anyone else what they were capable of doing and what they would do to him if he was ever caught. Yet he still returned to Starkiller, right back to the place that he never wanted to return to, because it had been the right thing to do.

And despite Rose’s misgivings to why he was down by the escape pods, he had a reason to leave. They needed the Jedi girl to return with Luke Skywalker, but if they returned when the First Order was still on the Resistance’s tail, they would be in danger. Finn going to warn them, or to help the girl look for Skywalker, wasn’t cowardly either.

Yet she noticed that every time that the girl was mentioned, Finn’s smile grew just a little wider and thoughtful, like the mere thought of her took his thoughts someplace far away. Rose had not met Rey, but she had to be special for the Resistance to entrust their most important mission to her. It made her a little jealous that someone could show up out of the blue and suddenly be revered as a hero while she had been with the Resistance for months and only a few members knew her name.

And yet, she knew that was petty.

Rose realized that she had to do something. First, she had to make things right with Finn. She looked down at Maz and then patted the fathier one more time on the snout. 

“I have to apologize,” she announced.

* * *

In a quiet corner in the basement of Maz’ crumbled castle, Finn took a deep breath as he began spooning up a broth that he got from the chef. He had tried some the last time he was here and even though it was such a simple dish, Finn found that it may have been the best thing he had ever tasted.

He was getting a little frustrated with Rose. At first, he decided that he would try to be as polite to her as possible out of respect for her grief, but after continuous accusations of cowardice and her frequent outbursts, Finn was losing patience. He had hoped that they could have at least been able to work together for the sake of the Resistance.

“I dunno, BB-8,” he sighed and looked at the droid stationed next to his knee where he was sitting down. “Rose knows we’ve only got a few hours, but still…”

The droid beeped at him in a slow rhythm. Finn wondered if BB-8 was trying to put him at ease. When he had time, he’d try to learn to understand droids.

“I’m still not sure if I want to join the Resistance either. I think I may have accidentally signed up when I volunteered for this mission though.” He then panicked. “Wait, do you think I won’t be able to leave now if I decided I didn’t want to join?”

BB-8 shook his head in the negative. That relieved Finn to see; General Organa didn’t strike him as someone that would expect the same forced loyalty that the First Order did.

“I wish Rey were here,” he commented. “I don’t know if she’s joined the Resistance or not, but she’d probably be able to talk me through this.” He really missed her. 

He hoped that they would reunite one day and in his heart, he knew they would.

A sudden flicker drew him out of his thoughts. BB-8 was playing a hologram in front of him.

An image of Rey in an outfit that he had never seen before was projected. She was standing beside a bed that he was lying on. Finn guessed that this was recorded while he was unconscious.

“That’s a weird thing to record, BB-8,” he told the droid. 

BB-8 rocked back and forth impatiently, like he was trying to get Finn to pay closer attention to the recording.

Finn then heard Rey’s voice. _“We’ll see each other again. I believe that,”_ her voice sounded a little sad and her face looked concerned as she looked over his still form. Yet her words had a hint of determination that told him that Rey would do whatever she could to keep her promise.

Then she leaned over and gently kissed him on the forehead.

_“Thank you, my friend.”_

He felt touched by the gesture. A soft feeling of fondness for Rey, his friend, waved over him. 

_I believe that too,_ he thought to himself with a smile as the hologram faded. He placed his hand over the beacon, still secure around his wrist, and squeezed it lightly.

In front of him, Finn saw Rose and Maz halted in the hallway. Rose looked a little unsure if she should continue approaching him while Maz smiled sweetly. They must have glimpsed the holo, Finn concluded.

“Who was that?” asked Rose.

“That was Rey,” Finn said, smiling a little.

“The Jedi girl?”

“She wasn’t a Jedi the last time I saw her in person. I didn’t even know she could use the Force,” Finn admitted. 

Rose clasped her hands together and twiddled her fingers nervously. “Finn,” she began. “Look, I’m sorry for what I said before. I guess I just couldn’t figure out why you wanted to leave the Resistance or why that girl was so special to you.”

Finn shrugged. “There’s nothing wrong with wanting to protect those you care about.”

She looked guilty now. “No… There’s not. I understand that perfectly.” She looked down at her feet. “Look at me, wasting what little time we have on this planet because of my stupid anger issues.”

Maz cut in. “Oh, don’t worry about time. I already have everything you need.”

Rose was amazed. “Really?”

“Follow me, you two.”

But just as they emerged upstairs, Maz brought them to a halt and urged them to back up. “What timing,” she breathed. “Bounty hunters.”

Finn and Rose looked quickly around the corner and saw a man in a dark brown jacket with a devil-may-care look upon his face. Had he just passed him on the street, Finn would not have guessed that this man was a bounty hunter. His clothes were far too battered and his person far too unkempt to loop him in with the more successful bounty hunters.

And it looked like he had a partner. A Zabrak in a similar gray jacket stood beside him, talking to him as they looked over their surroundings. 

“Maz, who is that?” asked Finn.

“They’ve got ties to the First Order,” she explained quickly, “but double-dipping with the Republic is also their forte.”

Rose looked at Finn, concern written on her face. “And I bet you still have quite a bounty on your head.”

With this realization, Finn knew that he could endanger the entire mission if he was seen. “Maz,” he said urgently, “do you have a way out of here where we won’t be seen?”

BB-8 rolled into Maz’s legs repeatedly, trying to get her attention. She looked down at the droid, who beeped something to her.

“I like this droid,” she commented.

Finn and Rose both glanced at each other. It was apparent from the look on their faces that they weren’t sure that they were going to like what BB-8 was planning. Lately, Finn had noticed that BB-8 was being a little less self-preserving and a lot more adventurous. Maybe not having to protect a map anymore was the reason behind it.

BB-8 opened one of his compartments and held out a taser to show that he meant business.

Finn was getting a bad feeling about this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I managed to get this written and edited without too much fuss. It’s the next chapter that I’m a little concerned about and it’s far shorter than all the others.
> 
> I wish we had gotten more Maz in the film. Phasma too, for that matter. It was like Rian Johnson had no idea what to do with any of the characters but he had contracts to uphold and just tossed them in randomly. I sincerely hope that JJ Abrams will bring her back, she's a favorite of mine.
> 
> I do feel like it’s important to address Rose’s behavior in the film and the novelization. I don’t want to excuse her actions – grief is never an excuse to hurt or belittle someone - but I felt like it was important for her to realize that she and Finn come from different places and place an apology somewhere in the dialog. She has a lot of potential for character development.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poe and Connix confront Holdo. Holdo admits her mistake. Leia is impressed.

_LOCATION: THE_ RADDUS

After walking up and down the hangar and chatting with the other surviving pilots, Poe realized that something strange was going on and all the thought going in his head was causing him to fume. He wished Black Squadron was around for him to talk with. Poe knew them best and they would have provided the listening ear he needed.

Not a single person knew what Vice Admiral Holdo was planning. She had approached no one to discuss fuel or a plan to get away from the First Order if they had to abandon ship. The lack of a plan made Poe nervous, and her silence on the matter made him wonder if she even had a plan.

They had no idea where the First Order was, only that they were trailing behind them somewhere. Poe’s guess was that they were hoping they would run out of fuel and then simply shoot the fleet down. It sounded like a pretty awful way to die, in Poe’s opinion. The lower levels of the _Raddus_ were currently being guarded. Already, many frantic personnel were trying to abandon ship but they had to keep as many pods as they could. Each pod was designed to hold three, but Poe knew they could easily cram five or six in if the situation was desperate. And it sounded like it was beginning to be just so.

He decided to head over to Operations. The personnel there were right in the center of everything and might have overheard something. Poe knew of a couple of people that he could trust there, in any case. 

But before he entered the room, he checked his comlink in hopes that he had received a message from Finn but found that there was nothing to report. He hoped the lack of communication was because they were busy focusing on finding a codebreaker and not because they were in trouble.

Poe found Connix slumped over her keypad. Her blond hair was falling out of their two hair buns and she looked like she really could use some caf. Everyone on board was exhausted, when he thought about it, he realized he hadn’t slept in about two days. Maybe that explained his impatience and heightened anxiety a little. 

“How’s it going, Lieutenant?” he asked.

She sighed and straightened her back. “Nothing yet. I hope Finn and Rose get those codes soon. It would be nice if there was a way they could just send them to me…”

“I’m going to try to com Finn soon to see what’s up. They should be on Takodana by now. By the way,” he added, “has the Vice Admiral said anything about the low fuel?” He decided to take the causal route to find out if Connix knew anything, he didn’t want to sound like he was making any accusations yet, in case Holdo did have a plan after all.

Connix furrowed her brow. “No,” she said as she tried to recall everything that had been discussed in the last couple of hours. “Commander, is something wrong?”

“Well…” he trailed off.

“Poe?” 

Biting his lower lip, he sighed. “Okay, so I told Holdo about the fuel reserves and asked her if there was any plan…”

“And?”

“And she waved me off and told me not to be concerned about it.”

Connix took a moment to think. “Do you think she has a plan or is something else up?”

“That’s the thing, she acted like she didn’t want to even talk with me. But she implied that there might be a plan. Maybe she was still discussing one with the general, but if you haven’t heard anything…”

“And she’s not doing – what does the general call it? – ‘Holdo speak’ either?”

“No it’s not that she’s bad at giving information,” Poe assured her, knowing that Holdo was known for saying odd things at times. “She’s not giving information at all.”

“It’s a little concerning to me that she might be withholding information from a CO. The Resistance does have communication protocols in place for a reason.”

Nodding, Poe understood what she was getting at. Back when the Resistance was first started a few years before, General Organa and a few other founding officers put communication protocols in place to make sure that everyone was kept in the loop about plans and orders unless the information needed to be confidential. In an emergency situation such as the one they were currently in, it was unlikely that any plan would be kept hushed.

And that brought him to another terrible thought.

“You don’t think she’s trying to sabotage the Resistance, do you?” He had hoped he wouldn’t get to the point of even suggesting the idea, but the thought was gnawing at him. 

Connix raised her hands in front of her and shook her head. “No, no. That would be too odd. I mean, Holdo has been General Organa’s friend forever. They were in the Rebellion together. Why would she want to sabotage her friends?”

“I don’t know,” Poe confessed. “I’m just worried.”

“I’m worried too, Poe… I think… I think we need to talk with her and resolve this. Either she doesn’t have a plan or she’s breaking protocol and neither of those is good for us right now.”

Moving away from her workplace, she nodded her head forward. Poe took that as a signal to follow her.

On the way out, they spotted C-3PO shuffling about. In the last couple of days, he had his work cut out for him. The general kept sending him back and forth to find people and summon them wherever they were needed.

“Hey, Threepio,” began Connix. “Are you busy?”

“Not at the moment,” he replied. “Can I be of service, Lieutenant?”

“Yeah, actually, you could,” she said. “We’re going to talk someone and I’ll need to write up a report later. You have a better memory that Poe or I, could you observe?”

“I certainly can,” C-3PO confirmed.

They moved outside Operations, back to the bridge. Holdo was instantly findable because of her hair. She was standing still and alone, her lip pursed and her face with a look that told them that she wasn’t happy with the current situation.

Poe and Connix looked at each other to confirm that they were both ready to confront Holdo. Poe sighed and took the lead to approach her.

“Ma’am,” he called to her.

Holdo turned around and straightened her stance, trying to look more confident, Poe observed. “Commander,” she acknowledged. Then she noticed Connix. “Lieutenant, I’m surprised to see you away from your console.”

“Poe has brought to my attention something that concerns me a little,” said Connix.

“Oh?” Holdo looked expectantly, but not in a way that told Poe that she knew that she was the concern.

“Vice Admiral, ma’am,” said Poe, “when I told you about the fuel and asked you about a plan, you implied that you have one.”

“I do,” she confirmed.

“But you haven’t told anyone?” inquired Connix.

“Well, it’s not the best plan,” Holdo admitted. “But Leia knows about it.”

“So there is a plan?” Poe was feeling uncomfortable again because now he knew that she deliberately withheld information from him. But now he had to find out the reason why.

“Like I said,” Holdo shrugged, “it’s not the best plan. I don’t want anyone to worry about it unless I feel like it’s time to think about putting it into action.”

Poe sensed Connix shift uncomfortably next to him. “Ma’am,” she began, “if this is true, what you are doing is a violation of Resistance protocol.”

C-3PO butted in. “The protocol says, ‘Reliable, timely, and accurate communication is a top priority for the Resistance.’”

Holdo’s eyes widened at the accusation as if she had just realized this as well. “I-" she began but never finished her sentence.

Connix, however, was visibly frustrated. “I have to report this regardless of the outcome here,” she explained, “but I’ll tell you now that if you let us know what your plan is, what I report will be much gentler. I’ll be fair about that.” She sighed. “I have so much work to do...”

Everyone was tired, Poe knew this better than anyone else. They were giving Finn and Rose just enough time to get back that would still mean that the Resistance had enough fuel to make one last hyperspace jump. As soon as he was done here, he would com them.

“I’m sorry Lieutenant,” said Holdo, trying to placate the situation. “And to you, Commander. I was not intending to cause harm – rather avoid it.” She looked around the room like she was still nervous to say anything. 

“You see, the plan – if you can call it that; it’s our only other option – is to abandon ship.”

Poe was a little taken aback by this, be he remained silent as she continued.

“It had always been the plan, but after Finn and Rose found the trackers on the escape pods and vessels and we were able to remove them, the plan actually became a reasonable one. The First Order can’t track them and the escape vessels are too small for their radars to pick up.”

And suddenly, that made a lot of sense. 

Holdo shook her head. “I was afraid of causing panic. And well, abandoning ship means that we would be abandoning what supplies we still have.” And then she smiled. “Leia has faith in your friend, so I will too. But I apologize to you both. I did not realize that I was upsetting you.”

There felt like there was a sigh of relief throughout the space. It was dumb that she had not told him this from the start, but at least she had revealed the plan.

Poe felt like he needed to clear the air a bit. “So,” he began, “should I put in the order to do a pre-launch check for the transports? Just in case.”

And Holdo, with a gracious smile, placed her hand over Poe’s in a gesture of goodwill.

* * *

When C-3PO came looking for him an hour later, Poe knew at once that either General Organa had news for him or she had heard about his confrontation with Holdo.

He was a little nervous as he approached the door leading to Command once again. Right now, Poe wasn’t sure if he could handle more bad news and Finn and Rose hadn’t comed him yet. Perhaps BB-8 could find a way to contact the Resistance, but Poe was hoping that the next time they made contact it was with good news.

Command seemed the same as when he was last there, though the tension in the room seemed thicker and more papers were spread out in organized chaos. Everyone looked dead in their seats.

General Organa stood from her seat when she saw him walk in, her arms held out at her sides in a welcoming manner.

“You wanted to see me, General?”

She smiled widely. “Poe, the Vice Admiral told me what you and Kaydel did.”

Poe gulped.

“No, no, not bad,” General Organa soothed, knowing exactly what he was thinking. “She wanted to tell me in person before I got Kaydel’s report.” Then her demeanor changed to something thoughtful. “I’m not happy with what she did. We’ll have to talk later and decide a proper action to take, but I’m proud of you, Poe.” 

And when he looked at her in the face, he saw that pride reflected in her brown eyes.

“It… it wasn’t much, ma’am,” he insisted. “We just talked to her.”

“Which, sometimes, is harder to do than to take other action or simply do nothing,” the general pointed out. “I know you can be impatient sometimes, but I know you’re smarter than try something like start a mutiny,” she chuckled. “I wish I could say that for all of the Resistance.”

But Poe was solemn. “I’m still worried, you know, about what’s to come.”

Leia placed her hand gently on his in a comforting manner. “I know, Poe.” She glanced at the ring hanging on the chain around his neck. “Your mother would be proud of you, I know it.”

That choked him a little. His mother had talked so fondly of Leia Organa and hearing that being said from someone that had actually known her, well, the meant the galaxy to him.

He had no words to say, so he nodded graciously. 

Then, the general sighed and closed her eyes. 

“Trust the Force.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will admit that this was my least favorite chapter to write, mainly because Poe's entire story arc was pretty pointless and made the Resistance look like the most poorly-ran military organization in Star Wars history. Even private armies have some sort of communication protocol to follow and withholding information can result in dangerous consequences unless the information in question is decided to be classified. In Holdo's case, this information was obviously not.
> 
> Since I wanted Holdo to be more like her _Leia: Princess of Alderaan_ counterpart, I just decided to go with it. Because she was more of a pacifist, it would make more sense for her to withhold information without realizing what she was doing - though _Cobalt Squadron_ does show her to be pretty involved with Resistance descision-making - than making her conflict with Poe be over her doing this on purpose. Lack of communication in the film almost did end up with her unintentionally sabatoging the Resistance because Poe and others were ready to start a mutiny. 
> 
> In any case, using the idea of established communication protocol meant that a conflict that spanned 1/5 of the TLJ novelization was solvable within seven pages on a Word document. I feel very embarassed for Rian Johnson's brain, though not really.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> DJ taunts. BB-8 distracts. Finn and Rose escape.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be updated weekly.

_LOCATION: TAKODANA_

Finn led Rose to another quiet corner of the basement where piles of reusable rubble had been collected. It gave them a better place to hide until Maz decided it was safe again. For one, it would provide them some cover that would keep them out of the line of sight of many of the guests that had settled downstairs.

“How long do we have still?” he wondered. He didn’t have a way to tell the time.

Glancing at the nearest chronometer that she could find, Rose winced. “A little over two hours.”

Thinking about how this could be a setback, his face fell even further. “That’s not a lot of time if this bounty hunter business gets in the way.”

Rose shook her head. “No, it’s not,” she sighed. “I’m worried. What if we get too close to the time cut off? Do you have a plan?

With a sheepish smile, Finn said, “I’m not the best at planning if you haven’t noticed.”

“I’m starting to see that.”

“So maybe we head back to the transport and then call the Resistance to tell them to get on the evacuation transports?”

She sighed again and took a moment to think. “I can’t think of anything better, either.”

“We’re really not good at this mission stuff, huh?”

“Not at all,” Rose agreed.

* * *

Upstairs, Maz and BB-8 were trying their best to keep the bounty hunters from their friends. They approach the two like they were going to offer hospitality. Well, at least good hospitality.

“Can I help you?” Maz asked.

The pair grunted their orders and Maz tried to convince them to stay upstairs. “There’s not much to look at right now,” she winced at the mess her cantina was in. One of the walls to the west had completely crumbled in. “But the basement is in worse shape.”

The bounty hunters looked at each other. “How is that possible?” the dark-haired man that was wearing a cap asked.

“The First Order was very thorough.” Maz hoped that the answer would be vague enough to let their imagination run wild. She knew humans and how their curiosity often got the better of them, sometimes stupidly, but she kind of had her hands tied and she still needed to get what Finn and Rose needed.

“Watch them, little friend,” she directed at BB-8 as the bounty hunters went to sit down at a table nearby that was still upright. “I have to get something, but if they move, try to distract them.”

BB-8 hooted to let her know that he understood.

Maz bolted in one direction, leaving BB-8 alone. The little droid looked around the area to scan his surroundings once more, but when he looked back in the direction the bounty hunters had been, he found that they were nowhere to be seen…

* * *

Downstairs, Rose was in a panic after spotting the bounty hunters walking into the basement. Finn wasn’t calm, but he at least had enough control over his nerves to not threaten to make a scene and get noticed. The zabrak was checking out his surroundings with a particular sense of detail that Finn was picking up on.

“Breathe,” he reminded her. 

“Easy for you to say!” she snapped. “How can you be so calm when we’re cornered?”

He sighed. “I’m not,” he confessed. “But if we start acting odd, they’re bound to spot us. If we act like nothing’s wrong, maybe they won’t think any more of us.”

“It’s your fault if we get captured,” Rose huffed.

Finn narrowed his eyes. “And why is that, exactly?”

“If it weren’t for you, I’d still be on the _Raddus_ minding my own business and not here putting myself in danger.”

“You do remember the part about low fuel and the First Order wanting to blast the Resistance out of the sky, right?”

She rolled her eyes with a huff. Finn really wasn’t sure what to make of her, but she certainly seemed to have issues. He wasn’t even sure at this point if they were even suited to complete a mission together and it bothered him that they could get into trouble because they couldn’t manage to get along.

Perhaps because of her behavior, the bounty hunter in the hat looked straight at them and grinned before casually strolling over.

 _“Kriff-"_ said Finn. “Rose, calm down. Act normal.”

Seeing the man approach them, Rose let out a quiet squeak in surprise, then occupied herself by staring at a group of upturned crates that suddenly seemed very interesting to her.

“I’ve seen you before,” the bounty hunter addressed Finn. “You were here a few days ago, huh?”

“Yeah,” said Finn. Weary of the man, Finn ever-so-slowly inched his hand closer to the holster at his hip where he kept his blaster. 

The bounty hunter shrugged. “Saw you with Solo; he around here?”

At the mention of Han, Finn’s heart sank. “No, he’s not here.”

“Too bad. Got some buddies of his that are looking for him.” He looked at Rose and furrowed his brow. “She’s not the girl that was here last, either.”

“No,” said Finn, remembering about his last visit with Rey and wishing it had been a little happier. “She’s off-planet.”

“You Resistance?”

Finn’s heart raced as he looked at Rose, who spoke up. “S-smugglers.”

“I’m neither,” said Finn. "I'm just passing through." He wanted this conversation to be over, lest they give themselves away. Rose looked over at him, a little disgusted by what he just said. He’d explain his situation better later. 

“Oh?” the man arched his brow. “Good choice. It’s better not to get involved with any side, if you know what’s good for you.”

“At least the Resistance are the good guys,” Finn muttered.

“Good guys, bad guys – made up words.” The bounty hunter slouched in the empty seat next to Finn. He looked over the guests in the basement and pointed out a Crolute gambling in the corner. “That guy’s an arms dealer. Makes his bank selling weapons to the bad guys-“

Rose shot the Crolute a glare.

“-And the good.”

He gestured to Finn to come closer to him. Finn didn’t want to – the guy smelled pretty bad – but he realized he needed to play along.

“Let me learn you something big,” he whispered. “It’s all a machine, partner.”

On the side of the man’s cap, Finn noticed letters engraved in a strip of metal.

“Why ‘Don’t Join?’” he asked.

The bounty hunter grinned and stood up to leave. 

“Better not to get caught up with sides,” he said. “You lose out on collecting what both have to offer.”

And that left Finn thinking. 

A few days ago, he would have agreed with the bounty hunter – in Finn’s mind, the bounty hunter’s name was DJ, for the letters on his cap. He didn’t want to be part of the Resistance and he certainly didn’t want to go back to the First Order. A life of not picking sides and not fighting sounded great to him and he almost took that chance before the First Order attacked Takodana and Kylo Ren took Rey.

 _Rey_ was the theme here. The first time he really thought about what he wanted to do was when they thought the First Order had caught up with the _Millennium Falcon._ At the time, Finn was ready to try to make a deal with them, hoping that if he turned himself in and insisted that Rey was just a bystander that got caught up with him, that they would let her go. He realized pretty quickly that the First Order would have likely still killed her. She was of no importance to them.

Then, she was the reason why he gave in and went to the Resistance for help. He didn’t have any intention to join them, but if they could help him rescue Rey and maybe do some damage to the First Order on the way, well, Finn had been willing to do anything.

She was one of the reasons why he was here now, with Rose. He wouldn’t have even met Rose if it wasn’t for the fact that he wanted to make sure that Rey was safe. As much as he wanted to protect Poe, too, Rey had been the person that he held closest in his thoughts.

And he wondered why Rose had acted like that was such a wrong thing a couple of hours ago. Surely, if she had the ability to change the past, she would want to save her sister? Everyone in the Resistance had different reasons for joining, but almost everyone held the common goal of wanting to protect the ones that they loved and cared about. As much as he could understand, there was nothing wrong in wanting to do that.

Finn never had really gotten the chance to really understand what love was, but from what he had experienced, what he felt for Rey and Poe - wanting to protect them - was an extension of the love that he had developed for them.

And that was what the Resistance wanted to do: protect the things they loved by defeating the First Order.

It was with the Resistance that Finn had felt like he had found a real purpose and one that he was proud of. In the First Order, he was expected to lay down his life for the good of the ideology, but even then he would have remained a faceless soldier, dead for the cause and forgotten, just another number in a sea of white and black. The Resistance so far had listened to him, made him feel like he was more than just another face. 

He was allowed to make and keep friends. Allowed to grieve for the one he had lost. Allowed to say no when he didn’t want to do something.

Finn had volunteered for this mission and the Resistance trusted him enough to let him go. They cared enough to even ask Rose if she was truly prepared to go with him, knowing her strengths and weaknesses but not extorting those weaknesses or belittling her for it.

Perhaps he belonged with them after all.

It was Rose that broke him from his thoughts with a faltering call.

“Huh? What?”

She shoved his shoulder with hers. “Look!”

In the direction that DJ had left, Finn spotted him and his Zabrak partner. DJ shrugged in their direction and his partner went for his blaster.

That entire time, DJ was probably sizing them up. He probably knew who Finn was from the start.

Which meant the First Order still had a price on him.

“Let’s get out of here!” said Rose and they scrambled away.

A blast hit the table and they leaped out of the way just in time. 

“Kriff!”

The Zabrak had his blaster raised and aimed, ready to shoot at them again.

But instead of shooting again, the bounty hunter suddenly jumped, groaned loudly in pain, and then slumped over. DJ then jerked in his spot before falling over and soon both of them were unconscious on the floor.

Finn and Rose had no idea what to make of it until a familiar droid rolled out from under a table, taser out. For good measure, BB-8 zapped DJ one more time. 

“Thanks, Beebee-ate,” said Rose as the droid rolled up to them. “We were in a bad spot.”

“And not a moment too soon.” Maz slid into the picture, appearing almost out of nowhere. “You two better get out of here.”

“But we don’t have a-" Finn started.

Then Maz held up a red datachip for him to take. “Take this. One of your tech’s will know what to do with it. There are notes with the code.”

“And everything we need is in this?” Rose asked, she looked a little skeptical.

“Codes, instructions, someone will know what to do with it.” Maz then gestured for them to follow her back upstairs. “You best get back to your transport, but avoid being seen! Go around, through the forest.”

At least this time, the First Order wasn’t lurking about, thought Finn.

“We can’t thank you enough, Maz,” said Finn. “Really, we can’t.”

“You can thank me by coming back when I’m back in business. Bring Rey with you. And my boyfriend.”

Finn almost laughed at the confused face that Rose pulled. He’d have to explain later.

He smiled. “I will.”

With one last glance, they parted ways with Maz. She waved to them as they disappeared from view.

* * *

Rose seemed to have some idea of where she was going, she definitely was taking a specific path rather than walking in a random direction. Deciding that her way was as good as any, Finn wasn’t going to ask her to explain the route, she might have a decent path in mind to get back to the transport after all.

At some point, they lost BB-8.

“Where do you think he went?” asked Rose, when they realized that their droid companion was nowhere to be found. 

Finn shrugged. “Maybe back to the transport? Little guy seems to be handling himself just fine.”

They continued on in silence for a few more minutes, until Finn decided to speak up.

“Where are we going, anyway?”

Rose smiled. “You’ll see.”

Coming to a clearing, they looked around a huge, flat area where a couple of transports had been docked. The grass had been cut down into a smooth oval shape that looked to be about a quarter mile long. 

Then Finn saw a fathier tied outside one of the transports, saddled, and waiting for whatever it was going to do.

“Is this a racetrack?” he asked.

“Maz told me that they’re here for a little while. I guess she wants to get in on the fatheir race gambling business. I was thinking we could lay low here for a little while.”

“Huh.” Finn took a look around. There were quite a few sentients looking after the creatures, but none of them took notice of Finn and Rose’s presence nor seemed threatening in any way. They were just doing their jobs.

For a couple of minutes, Finn and Rose found quiet behind one of the transports, alternating keeping watch to be on the lookout for anyone that might be after them. Finn also checked the beacon around his wrist and let out a relieved deep breath when he saw that it was still flashing blue in spaced out intervals.

But the peace did not last.

The Zabrak had caught up with them, blaster ready to shoot at a moment’s notice. DJ was not with him, but Finn assumed that either he was still knocked out or went in another direction to track them down. They would have been able to cover more area that way.

Ducking behind a crate, Finn and Rose glanced around from time to time, trying to keep up with the Zabrak movement. Knowing that if they stayed there that they would get caught, Finn looked for an opportunity that would allow them to slip away undetected.

“What do we do?” asked Rose.

Finn looked around. The space was too open, if they tried to run for it now, they would be spotted for sure.

“We have to get away from here. Fast. But we’ll be seen.”

Then, Rose’s expression perked up. “Fast?” she asked. 

“Yeah, fast.”

Finn looked over at Rose and followed her eyes to where she was staring at the tied-up fathier. He took a moment to put two and two together and then groaned.

“Oh, no. No, you’re not thinking-"

“That’s exactly what I’m thinking. You said we need to get out fast, right? A Zabrak on foot can’t keep up with a running fathier.”

“Maybe instead, a diversion…”

“We’ll set loose the ones in the pen, too.”

He was a little amazed that Rose’s plan was more unconventional than anything that he would have come up with. Of course, the idea that he might fall off such a large creature at a fast speed was pretty terrifying, hence why he didn’t think it up himself. Injuring or getting himself killed was not going to help the Resistance.

Yet, this was the only escape plan they were able to come up with. And it was crazy enough to work.

“You got any ideas on how to distract him in the meantime?” Finn resigned himself to escape on the back of a prized racing animal. He was certain, however, that he was going to fall off.

Rose looked around, and then raised her blaster and shot at a group of supply crates on the opposite side of them. The subsequent noise and damage grabbed the attention of the bounty hunter and some of the workers.

“Now, you run to that pen,” whispered Rose. “Open the gate and wait for me.”

“Wait, where are you going?” asked Finn.

She rolled her eyes. “To get our getaway transport, duh.”

And then she ran off, leaving Finn alone.

He took a deep breath and readied himself for what he had to do. Then he ran for it.

* * *

It was actually a lot easier than he thought it would be to open the temporary pen for the grazing fathiers. All he had to do was unhook a chain that wrapped around the gate and fence post to secure it and then unlatch the gate by pressing a knob in and pulling. It maybe took him all of thirty seconds.

The fathiers, however, did not seem interested in bolting out like he expected. They seemed perfectly content grazing as they were.

“Oh, come on!” He looked across the field and was relieved to see that everyone was still inspecting the damaged crates.

But he was even more relieved to see Rose jogging up to him and leading the tied-up fathier by his lead rope. The fathier towered over Rose and Finn. He inspected the creature and frowned.

“No saddle?”

“Nope,” she said as she pulled the animal up to the fence and climbed on to give herself enough height to shimmy onto the fathier’s back. “It’s a racing saddle. It’s flat and the stirrups are short. They’d just get in the way.” She reached around the fathier’s neck to tie the lead rope to one of the tie rings on the halter. “Here, unsnap the one under his chin and snap it to the opposite ring.”

Finn did as he was told. He had to stand tip-toe to do it, though. But once he did it, he realized that Rose has created a makeshift bridle and reins. 

While they were doing that, the fathier called out to the others in the field and got their attention. The small herd began to walk over to them. That was also the moment that Finn realized that the creature was female.

“Okay, now climb on.”

Taking another deep breath, Finn followed Rose’s lead. He clambered onto the fence and then awkwardly semi-leaped onto the fathier’s back, careful not to scare the animal or hit her on accident with his feet. The only place that he could put his arms for something to hold on to was Rose’s waist.

“This okay?” he asked.

“Yep,” she confirmed.

Then she didn’t do anything; she just sat there, staring ahead.

“…Rose, do you know how to ride a fathier?” asked Finn.

She grinned with embarrassment. “N-no. N-never saw one in my life until today.”

Because _of course._

Rose cleared her throat. “Um, yaw?” she said with uncertainty.

The fathier did nothing.

Finn remembered seeing an old Imperial holo while he was still a cadet. It was an old favorite of the First Order’s. The lead went around from world to world with his fathier steed and fixed everyone’s problems – in the name of the Emperor, of course. He recalled that the main character used his legs to cue his steed to move.

…Well, it was worth a shot.

Lightly tapping his heels against the animal’s sides, Finn startled as the fathier began to move. 

“What did you just do?” asked Rose.

“Kicked my… heels against her.”

Trying that too, Rose suddenly cued the fathier to burst into a run. They both fell forward and Finn held on to Rose for dear life while Rose was holding on to the creature’s neck.

The other fathiers followed, free from the confinement of their pen and following behind the fathier that Finn and Rose were seated on.

Now, they had been noticed.

The workers stared after them and the Zabrak cursed and grabbed for his blaster. He’d have to try to follow them on foot, but Finn and Rose knew they had an upper hand for once.

They held on to the galloping fathier as best as they could but the rapid up-down motions of the large animal proved that to be difficult. Finn found himself squeezing his thighs tightly to use his muscles to try to keep him from falling off. He was still very terrified that this was going to happen.

But Rose had a little grin on her face, even though it was plainly obvious that she was worried about the same thing.

The fathier’s long ears perked forward. Once they got away from the track and entered a more covered area, her strides became smoother and her breathing became more relaxed.

She was enjoying her run and from the sounds behind them, the other fathiers were too.

As Rose led the fathier and the herd in the direction of their transport, they came across another clearing, one with a shiny silver transport sitting there. 

And then, she saw a glimpse of an orange and white droid.

She tugged on the lead rope and the fathier began to slow into a lope, then a trot, and finally to a half-halt before she turned the creature around and headed towards the transport. “Beebee-ate!” she called.

They came to a halt and Finn slid down the fathier’s side followed closely behind by Rose. Finn’s legs felt heavy, muscles sore, and he knew they were twitching. 

“What are you doing here, Beebee-ate?” he asked.

The droid made a gesture with his domed head and began to make a series of beeps. Finn looked at Rose.

“He says this is the bounty hunters’ transport,” she translated. “Beebee-ate says we can use it. He disabled their tracker and security.”

“I don’t want to give them a reason to follow-“

“Beebee-ate says we’ll get back a lot faster than our transport, but…” Rose had a sudden look on her face. “I’ll be right back! Give me a boost.”

Finn used his hands to levy her back up onto the fatheir. “What are you doing?” he asked. 

“We’re not far from our transport,” she explained. “I need to get my bag.”

He looked at her in disbelief. “Hurry up, then! I’ll help Beebee-ate get the transport ready. We need to go before the bounty hunters find us!”

“I will,” she promised. “Don’t worry.”

And as she took off, Finn realized that was the first time that he had seen Rose act confident about her abilities. It was a big change from the young woman he had met by the escape pods of the _Raddus._ He hoped that confidence was here to stay.

* * *

Almost as soon as the fathier approached the Resistance transport, Rose realized that she would be running back on foot. As small as she was compared to the tall, lanky creature, she had no way to mount it again. 

But it was important that she retrieve her power baffler supplies. The parts were not going to be easy to come by, at least for a while, Rose guessed about the situation for the Resistance. She'd rather not waste perfectly good parts.

The bag would be a little heavy, but she would do it. If all went wrong, well, she’d just have to drop them in the forest on her way back. She had a feeling that she might need the parts later, especially if they were stealing another transport.

The fathier was breathing hard but she looked peaceful as if she had enjoyed the run. A few other fathiers continued to follow her to the transport, but some of the others had opted to graze around the woods and meadows instead. Rose had realized pretty quickly that her mount may have possibly been the lead mare.

Paige would have been jealous, Rose thought as her hand unconsciously traveled to her uniform to where her pendant was located. In fact, if Paige were here, she might have been the one to suggest using the fathiers to escape, only because she wanted to get the chance to ride one.

It seemed kind of mean to think, but Rose really wished her sister was on this mission with her instead of Finn. She was starting to like Finn but it had become very obvious to her that he wasn’t what she had imagined. Actually, she was starting to become shocked that he had gotten into Starkiller in the first place. He seemed to improvise a lot of his plans and actions, though she had heard of a lot of old Rebellion leaders doing similar things. Maybe that was a common characteristic of a hero? She really wasn’t sure.

She reached up and patted the fathier’s soft neck again and then reached for the lead rope to coax the fathier into lowering her head. 

Loosening the halter off the fathier, she whispered, “Thank you,” to her and tossed the halter to the side, next to the transport.

She was about to turn away and head back, when the hum of engines sounded around her and the fathiers spooked and broke into a canter, taking the herd quickly out of sight. 

Rose was expecting to see the bounty hunters or angry fathier owners ready to snatch her up, but when she turned around she stared in shock as the luxury yacht hovered close.

Appearing from an opening hatch on the side was Finn.

“Need a lift?” he asked.

“I thought you were going to wait up for me!” she yelled over the loud engines.

“Talked to Poe. Decided it was easier just to come get you.”

She grinned as she heaved the bag up for him to grab and then pulled herself into the transport.

If all went well from here on out, their mission for the Resistance would be completed with success.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you tell that I use to ride horses? As much as I loved the idea of a horse species in Star Wars, the whole Canto Bight arc was pointless but I still wanted to add the fathiers in, especially because they connected Rose with Paige one last time. According to the tie-ins, Paige's favortie animal was a fathier and she never got to see one before she died. It would have been a nice reference in the film and be a nice touch to Rose's grieving process, but hey, no one actually did any grieving in the movie, right? 
> 
> No beginner gets off a horse that was wildly galloping and riding essentially bareback (they didn't use stirrups, I noticed) and walks away without incredibly sore muscles. It is law. The first time I trotted a horse while using a saddle with stirrups, my leg muscles actually twitched so much that I tripped and fell face-first into sand.
> 
> Guess who's coming back next chapter? Yep, Rey.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey explores. Kylo Ren's new ploy fails. Luke reveals a personal secret.

_Location: Ahch-To_

Unable to sleep well the night of her first lesson, Rey found herself getting out of bed and wandering around the _Millennium Falcon_ aimlessly. 

She supposed that the problem was that she hadn’t had the chance to properly adjust to this new sleep schedule. Really, she ought to go back to her bunk and stayed there until she could fall asleep. But Rey wasn’t used to _not_ having a real purpose in her day. On Jakku, her purpose was to survive, to wake up the next day and scavenge. That had been the plan of nearly every day of her life. With Chewbacca wanting to work on the _Falcon_ himself and Luke only teaching her during the daylight hours, Rey had no idea what to do with herself.

That old tree kept popping up into her thoughts. She wasn’t sure why this tree was of such interest to her -- perhaps it had more of something to do with the fact that Jakku didn’t have trees, to begin with, and the idea that such ancient plant life even existed fascinated her – but she wanted to at least take a closer look at it, since she didn’t think she would get to during her next two lessons with Luke.

Rey decided to brave the night and have a closer look.

She bundled herself up and reached for her bag while also grabbing for a few supplies. After rummaging through the _Falcon’s_ supply closet, she found a couple of glowrods and stuffed a few into her bag in case some of them had died after years going unused. 

Then after hitting the button to lower the ramp, Rey slid out into the night. She didn’t think she’d be gone long; really, this was just a walk to help her try to get to sleep again.

* * *

She found herself surrounded by a dense fog as she hiked her way to the old tree. The fog was also a new experience for her. She found that it added a more sinister feel to the night like it was purposely trying to make her lose her way.

Luckily, she had a pretty good idea of where she was going.

The walk up took a little bit longer than she originally thought, but the island was quiet at night and she was able to breathe in the fresh air and soothe her mind. The porgs were asleep and Rey had not come across any nocturnal fauna yet.

When she finally stood in front of the tree, she regarded it with curiosity. It looked ancient, almost even petrified. There were no leaves growing from it, unlike the trees that she had come across on Takodana. If Rey couldn’t have felt a pulse of the Force flowing through it, she might have even thought that the tree was dead.

It was one of the most magnificent things that Rey had ever seen.

She noticed, however, that there was a large gap – a hole really – on the side of the thick trunk. It reminded her of a doorway.

Shining her glowrod into the gap, she could just make out something…

At first, she wasn’t quite sure what she was looking at. The tree’s trunk was hollow and in the center of it sat a shelf-like structure. She brushed her hand gently against the objects that were sitting on the shelf and found that they were books. Old and worn, Rey was almost afraid to take a closer look in case she ruined the contents of the leather-bound covers.

But she was careful as she removed a book from the center of the group and opened it. The page’s contents were filled with diagrams and star charts but the language it was written in was one that Rey had never seen before. If the age of the books was any indication, the language must be an ancient language of the humans that had populated the island long ago.

Perhaps if she took this back with her, Leia could help her find a droid to translate. She doubted that C3PO was knowledgeable in dead ancient languages, but maybe he would know another droid that could help her.

She looked around the tree to see if there was anything else that might be important. It seemed the only objects that were there were the books, but then she flashed the glowrod to the floor and found an abandoned cloak that looked suspiciously like one of Skywalker’s.

Upon removing the cloak from the floor, she found another large gap that she could fit in. This time, she could see a faint glow of light coming from beyond. Rey crouched down to her knees and flashed the glowrod into the dark. She realized that the bottom of the hole was not too far down. It would be easier for her to climb back up without any tools.

So, curiosity leading her, she moved her legs over the ledge and jumped down, bending her knees as she landed.

Rey held the glowrod up and looked around. She found a tunnel leading downwards just a bit more. The large roots of the ancient tree lined the tunnel and Rey deemed it safe enough that it shouldn’t cave-in on her.

It wasn’t a tall tunnel. She found that she had to crouch down as she walked through the passage, careful to avoid loose stones that might cause her to trip. She (and her legs) were relieved when she made it through and was able to stand upright again.

She looked around in the space that she had just entered. The room was more of a submerged chamber, from what she could tell. It was far too massive to be considered just a room. The walls were made of a tannish stone which matched the floor and the chamber was light enough from the eerie glow coming from large crystals installed into the walls. In the center of the chamber was a raised circular platform, tiled with stones to divide the platform into two sections. On one side, the tile looked to be white with years of dust laying on top of it. The other side, a contrast to its partner, was a duller black. A very large boulder sat upon the platform.

Approaching it, Rey continued to look around the chamber. She saw scattered remains of pottery, bits of paper that had miraculously not disintegrated with age…

But left leaning against a wall was a long rod. It looked to be of some sort of metallic material. Maybe iron? It reminded her of her quarterstaff. She decided she would look at that next.

Rey bent down and began to wipe away the dust on the white tile. She had never seen tile this light before. There was a light shimmer to it, which reminded her a bit of the sands of Jakku when the sun just hit it right at sunset.

She wasn’t quite sure what this platform had been used for. Perhaps a place to meditate or to spar? It didn’t seem likely because of the stone. It didn’t randomly fall through the ceiling; it had been placed there. Rey had never seen anything like this before. This temple was nothing like she had ever seen before.

Approaching the staff, Rey found that other objects had been placed around the temple. Too carefully placed for something to have been supposedly abandoned after all these years. She could make a pretty good guess at who else had been here recently.

On an alcove that looked more like a shelf than anything else, Rey discovered a strange disc sitting alone. It looked to be made of metal with an etching of a symbol that seemed strangely familiar to her, but she couldn’t quite place what it was or where she had seen it before. She reached out to touch it.

She pushed against the clasp of the metal disc that held two sides together. It unfolded and revealed a strange star map that Rey couldn’t read. It looked old and she could not recognize any system or planet.

Another presence was in the temple with her, behind her. She turned around to find Skywalker standing on the platform.

“You sensed me this time,” he commented. “You’re beginning to tap into the Force unconsciously. Soon you might even be able to know it’s me without turning around.”

Rey furrowed her eyebrows. “And the Force will just… tell me who it is?”

He smiled. “In a way.”

She looked back down at the metal disc that she was holding in her hand. “What is this?” she asked him. “It looks like a compass, but I’ve never seen one like this before.”

Skywalker took the disc from her gently. “It was my piece of the map, so to speak,” he explained. “We’re right here.” He pointed to a bright shimmering dot, brighter than all the other dots. “But I couldn’t figure out where exactly _here_ was by this alone. So I sought out Tekka and he and I pieced together everything than combined our information to modernize the map.”

“And then you split it up?” asked Rey.

He smiled slyly. “I already had the coordinates programmed into my X-wing when I left. But I didn’t want to be found and R2 still had the full map… So I corrupted his data to make the map have a section missing.” 

Rey understood what he was saying, even if she was not happy that he was implying that he purposely abandoned his family. That wasn’t the Luke Skywalker that she had heard about in the stories.

But one thing still hadn’t been answered.

“If you think the Jedi must end, then why are you here? Why did you stay here?”

He didn’t look her in the face when he answered. “In my failure to my nephew and my students, I came here to see if I could find answers. Find something to help me understand that failure… I didn’t have a lot of training before I was called a master, after all.”

Skywalker placed the compass down. “But what I found here told me something different from what I had always assumed. The first Force users didn’t just utilize it for good, for the light; they understood the dark side, too. They lived in balance with both sides.”

He gestured at Rey to follow him. Leading to an open crack in the wall, Rey peered out and saw a cliff overlooking the ocean. In the center of the cliff, looked to be a shallow pool.

Upon closer inspection, she found that the pool had been tiled to create a sort of mosaic. The tiles were black and white, much like the platform in the temple, but in the bottom center a figure was formed to look like a human – maybe not quite a human – sitting in the meditative position that Skywalker had taught her.

“What is this?” she asked him.

He shrugged. “To be honest, I really have no idea. I think it’s a meditation pool.”

“So…” Rey furrowed her eyebrows. “Do you sit in it and meditate?”

Skywalker didn’t have much of an answer. “I suppose you could, but that seems a little cold. My guess is that you’re supposed to sit beside it and meditate. Water is the embodiment of the Force; I guess that’s one way to explain it. It gives and sustains life but…”

“It can also take life away,” she guessed.

“Well, yes.”

Rey looked back at him. He looked sheepish in the little grin he gave her.

“What happened to the first Force users?” she asked. “Why were there Jedi and Sith later?”

“That’s another thing that I cannot answer, which would really help me out. Perhaps the pull of the light and the dark became too much for them and they split into two groups later. As far as I can tell, they were simple fisherman living on this island. They weren’t peacekeepers of the galaxy or anything of the sort. They utilized the Force to serve them in their day to day activities.”

It was easy to picture the huts in the village being occupied by early Force users. She imagined them using the Force to help them in their daily chores, to help them hunt and fish. If Rey had known about her abilities, maybe she would have used them to help herself on Jakku. Being able to lift heavy scrap metal with her mind would have taken the strain out of her everyday life.

Rey approached the pool and sat beside it. “You said meditation?” she wanted to confirm.

He nodded and, sensing that she wanted time alone, walked back into the temple, leaving her in peace.

Sitting in the meditation position, she took a deep breath and concentrated on feeling the Force again. She wasn’t sure exactly what she was hoping to feel here, but she sensed that the pool could help her focus at the very least.

As she felt herself being pulled deeper into meditation, she found that the Force was calling to her again. But this time, it wasn’t the warm light from the night before. No, this was cold, chilling…

The darkness was pulling her in.

 _The Force is connecting us,_ came the distorted voice of her enemy. _But why?_

She didn’t want anything to do with him. All the awful things that had happened to her over the last couple of days were connected directly to him. Rey tried to pull away, but the darkness held her like the sinking sands of Jakku. The more she struggled, the more it held on tighter.

 _No, no,_ the voice of Kylo Ren coaxed. _Don’t leave. I want to talk._

“Murderous snake,” she growled as she looked around cautiously in the darkness. “You’re too late. You’ve lost. I’ve found Skywalker.”

A pause, long enough to make Rey think that he had given up and severed the connection, and then… 

_Did he tell you what happened?_ Ren asked. _The night that I destroyed the school. Did he tell you why?_

He was trying to manipulate her. She knew that. “I know everything I need to know about you! You are a monster.”

 _Yes,_ he agreed, to her surprise. _I am._

And then his presence disappeared. She felt it vanish like she had been crammed into a small space but now she suddenly was given an ample amount of it. But the darkness was fading in and revealing Ahch-To on a darkened skyscape.

She was no longer sitting near the pool. Now she was looking out at the sea. Night had set in and it had begun to rain.

A triangular shuttle approached the island. Its wings began to lift up as it readied to land. 

Something wasn’t right about this; just looking at the shuttle sent a chill down her spine.

“Luke!” she yelled out. “Master Skywalker!?”

Rey ran into the temple and found that he was not there. Her heart pounded in her chest and she panted heavily, wondering what she should do.

Running back to the tunnel and vaulting herself back above ground, Rey wandered out into the rainy night. She made her way back to the village, hoping that Skywalker was there.

A group of dark figures emerged into her line of sight. Menacing, dark… they were familiar to her. Rey recalled the vision that she saw after touching the lightsaber and remembered that she had seen these same figures before. She gasped.

The Knights of Ren.

There were six of them in total; Kylo Ren leading the way. She could recognize him by his mask anywhere. The other five were similar in fashion: all clad in black, wearing masks to hide their faces. They all seemed to carry various weapons. Rey could see a spear and a blaster held by two of them.

She remembered that in the vision that Kylo Ren had killed one of his own. That means that was one less to worry about. Still, six against one weren’t great odds. Rey could hold her own against multiple enemies in a fight with her quarterstaff, but there was one experienced Force user in this group at the very least, and Rey had hunch that the other five were also Force-users.

At the same time, she wasn’t going to let Kylo Ren have her. She wasn’t going to go anywhere with him.

Rey reached for the lightsaber in her pack and ignited it. She was probably going to die right here, but she was going to put up a fight. 

Kylo Ren broke away from the group and approached her. When he was finally standing where she can see the features of his mask clearly, he also ignited his lightsaber.

They stared at each other silently, waiting for the other to make the first move.

Ren was about to make his move in when behind her, she heard another lightsaber ignite. She was worried that another Knight had taken the opportunity to sneak up behind her. Rey would expect nothing less of them.

Instead, to her relief, stood Skywalker. His face was angry, weary, and he stood in an attack stance with a lightsaber in hand. Rey had heard legends that after his father’s lightsaber was lost, Luke had constructed his own weapon that was green in color.

The other Knights joined their leader now. All of them had their weapons ready. Two against six was still not good odds, but Rey felt better with Skywalker at her side. 

_Rey…_ a soft, ancient voice called to her.

Two Knights circled her, striking at her. She slashed the lightsaber at them, forcing them to back off.

The other four circled around Skywalker. He managed to dodge their attacks with ease, but he had many close calls.

“Luke!” she called as she parried a strike. One of the Knights was right behind him…

He turned around and stabbed his lightsaber straight through the Knight’s chest. The Knight fell to his knees and when Skywalker pulled the saber away, he fell to the ground on his side.

But then, just as the old Jedi pivoted on his feet to turn around, Kylo Ren made a slashing motion with his crimson red saber. It was about to make contact with Skywalker…

No…

The world seemed to move in slow motion. She watched as the saber slowly moved towards his neck.

 _Rey,_ that soothing voice said again. _This is not real._

Not real? But then, what is this?

She felt something tug at her. Warmth. Light. It was what she had been searching for, to begin with. Not wanting to be in this nightmare any longer, Rey closed her eyes and allowed the light to eat away at the scene until she was surrounded by nothing but bright light.

_My dear child, can you hear me?_

And suddenly, Rey recognized the voice. “Maz?”

She turned around and found the matron of Takodana sitting quietly in the light. Rey approached her and sat on the ground – or at least, what seemed to be the ground – to join her.

“I feel so lost, Maz,” she confessed. “I found Luke like you said, but he doesn’t seem to want to return. He’s reluctant to teach me anything.”

Maz smiled. “No, I didn’t think he’d return so quickly. Rey, look around you.”

She furrowed her brow. “There’s nothing here,” she commented.

“No, that’s not true. Where are we? How are we talking now?”

Rey contemplated this for a moment. “The light? The Force?” It was like a sudden realization. “We are connecting through the Force?”

“So you see, you have learned _something_ in the last few days.” Maz gave Rey that knowing smile of hers. “Very few people have ever achieved what we are doing now.”

They took a moment to appreciate the light in silence. Rey thought back to her meditation from the night before when she reached out and touched the light. It was connecting her to someone.

But then, was the nightmare she just saw real, too? 

“Maz,” she began. “What I just saw…”

Maz opened her eyes and sighed. “I don’t deny that you saw a vision, Rey,” she said. “But I warn you that Kylo Ren and Snoke know many tricks with the Force.”

“So then, it wasn’t real?” Rey asked.

“Perhaps,” said Maz. “Perhaps not. What does the light tell you?”

Rey focused on the light and found that the Force was singing to her. It hummed and if she listened carefully, she could understand it.

“Ren wants to scare me into showing him where I am at,” she concluded. Then she remembered something from the last time they spoke. “You said, the last time, that there was someone that could still come back.”

“I did.”

“If it wasn’t Luke, then who? Where is that belonging?”

“Ah, my dear, there was never a specific answer. There were so many that could have been the answer. Some have already made the choice to not turn back and some made the choice on their own. But you also made a choice. You were the one that wanted Skywalker to return.”

“But then who—" her mind jumped around, thinking of all the people that have entered her life in the last couple of days. “Ben Solo was given a chance to return to the light, but he rejected it. Han went back to Leia and tried to bring his son back, too... But _Finn,_ he came back for me. He went back to Starkiller for me.”

“I was not lying when I said that he had the eyes of a man that wanted to run,” said Maz.

“But he didn’t.”

“No he didn’t. Something changed him.” 

Finn returned to Starkiller, right into the hands of the First Order, the one place he was most afraid of, all for her. Chewbacca had even told her that it was his idea, that he went to the Resistance and helped them in exchange for a chance to get her back safely. He had no intention to join the Resistance, but everything he had done was for her.

“He misses you, by the way.” Maz grinned widely when she said this.

And that brought a jolt to Rey’s heart. “You’ve seen him? He’s awake?”

“Yes, he was on Takodana just a few hours ago, getting help for the Resistance.”

“Are they in trouble?” Rey was worried. There had been no communication between the _Falcon_ and the Resistance, which told her that something might be amiss. If Finn was awake and he hadn’t contacted her yet, something was definitely wrong.

But Maz shook her head in the negative. “If all goes well when he returns, they won’t be.”

Rey wanted to ask her to elaborate, sensing a story there, but she had noticed that Maz was starting to fade out, becoming transparent, like how Rey would imagine a ghost.

“It looks like my nap is over,” said Maz. “I was meditating, but really, it’s just an excuse to take a nap midday. The perks of being as old as I am.”

With a smile, Rey stood up and watched as her friend exited the dreamscape. “I’ll come visit you soon, Maz.”

“Take care, my dear. I will be waiting. And put some sense into Skywalker’s head while you’re at it.”

Reemerging into reality, Rey gasped and found herself still sitting in the meditative position. It was still morning, the sun was just rising and the sky was beautiful in shades of pink and purple. She wanted to stay and admire the horizon longer, but she needed to find Master Skywalker and tell him about the dream.

He wasn’t far, luckily. She found him sitting on the dais of the temple and staring at the large boulder in the center of the chamber.

“Did you find anything interesting?” he asked, trying not to act like he was that curious about her meditation.

"I saw…” she began. “Well, I saw many things.” Deciding to start with the bad part, she took a deep breath. “Master Skywalker, I had a vision. I’ve had these visions before but this one was so real. The Knights of Ren came here and attacked us. Your nephew was with them.”

Skywalker shifted uncomfortably. “And you think that this is a vision of the future, then?”

She shrugged. “I’m not sure. Maz Kanata connected with me through the Force and she doesn’t think so, but…”

With a smile, Skywalker stood up. “Then you should trust her on this one. The fact that the two of you connected means that you have a strong grasp on the Force. It took me years to get to the point that you are at.” He nodded at the boulder. “You should try to lift it with the Force. From what I’ve learned, this was the final test to becoming a master here. It’s incredibly heavy. Not everyone was able to do it.”

With a deep breath, Rey focused on the boulder, thinking of effortlessly lifting it into the air. She tried to focus on it the way she did with the lightsaber.

It shifted a little on the platform, but it didn’t even lift a fraction into the air. She tried again with the same results.

“An impressive first try.” Skywalker nodded. 

“Could you show me?” she asked with excitement all over her face. Just seeing Luke Skywalker move the boulder with the Force would be all of her childhood stories and hopes coming to life. “I won’t be here much longer; I’d love to see a master do it.”

But then, Skywalker’s face fell and he looked away from her with shame. “I can’t do that, Rey.”

“But why not?” she questioned. 

He didn’t answer but his face told her that something was off about his behavior. She thought back to all the times they had met and she realized that she never once saw him use the Force for anything. He didn’t even seem to have a clear understanding of her visions or whether to be worried or not. Wouldn’t he have a better understanding of this than Maz, who had a very close and unique connection to the Force but could not use it herself?

Wait a minute…

She gaped. “You’ve-you’ve disconnected yourself from the Force, haven’t you?”

His silence answered her loud and clear.

“But why would you do that? Why?” Her tone was begging him for an explanation.

Skywalker sighed. “You know why.” 

Without another word, he walked back into the tunnel, leaving Rey alone, heartbroken to discover that one of her childhood heroes, a thing of legend and lore, had fallen to this state and let her down again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gee, we finally get a chance to learn more about the first Jedi and we get absolutely nothing except a few old texts. Tsk. Tsk. What a waste of a perfectly good opportunity.
> 
> The Jedi temple ruins were partially inspired by this [concept art.](https://78.media.tumblr.com/f14fb7bcf71e9e74f9e1e79d67d4a73b/tumblr_p310czYL8g1w4t7wqo10_1280.jpg)
> 
> Also, no Knights of Ren, Rian? Even after all the confirmed images of them being on Ach-To? Why? Because you had no idea how to put them in without killing them all off? Maybe you should have had someone with actual talent write the script for you.
> 
> Next week: more Rey exploring her Force powers and trying to get Luke to be more open to being a teacher.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kylo Ren falters. Luke tells his side of the story. Rey makes a promise.

She was positive that she was dreaming when she saw the figure of Kylo Ren standing alone amid thick, pure darkness. After what Maz had told her, Rey knew to keep her wits about her and tried to keep her mind closed, focusing only on what she wanted to experience in the dream. Something felt off about his appearance in her dreams and she was desperate to figure out a way to erase him from her mind forever.

“Why did you hate your father?” she asked. Rey didn’t quite care what he would say, not sure if he was real or not, but she needed this – needed to call him out and demand answers. In the time that she had known him, Han Solo had quickly become what she imagined her ideal father to be. He was a little on the grouchy side, sure, but underneath that hardened exterior had been a heart that cared for two clueless orphans and a droid that needed to go back to the one place he didn’t want to go. 

Rey could not imagine Han not caring for his own son during childhood. Not after watching him plead for his adult son to come home and offer forgiveness. Even as he died, Rey had only seen love on Han’s face as he looked upon his son one last time.

She hated Kylo Ren for that. He had everything that she had ever wanted – a home, a family, _love_ – and he threw it all away. She hated him for everything he took away from her and everything he had tried to take.

And when he did not answer her, she found herself crying as she asked again, “Why did you hate your father? You had a father that loved you.”

Then the monster looked straight into her eyes and calmly said, “I didn’t hate him.”

Rey did not believe him. To kill someone, surely there had to be some hatred fueling the action, if not a motive. “Then why?”

“Why what? Why what?” He was goading her now. “Just say it.”

“Why did you… kill him?”

“No, you wouldn’t understand. Your parents tossed you away like garbage. I saw it, in your mind.” And she hated him for that, too. He was lying to her to hurt her, hoping that in emotional turmoil that she would become an easy target, easy to manipulate, easy to turn to the dark side.

“Stay out of my mind,” she spat. “And I might not have known my parents, but at least I know love when I see it and appreciate it!”

“The dark side required it,” he stated as if that would explain everything and be a good enough of a reason. “To break free of the hold that the light had on me, I had to do it. The Supreme Leader told me so.” And then he circled her like a predator ready to pounce on his prey. “You can stop needing them, your parents. It’s your greatest weakness. You look for them anywhere – a substitute. In Han Solo… and now Luke Skywalker.” But then he stopped and held her gaze again.

“Now answer my question,” he hissed. “Did he tell you what happened that night?”

“Yes,” she gritted. She didn’t know the whole story, but she knew enough. 

“Liar,” he said flatly. “No, he sensed my power, as he senses yours. And he feared it.”

The sound of a lightsaber igniting behind her startled her and she jumped to look around her.

At first, she expected to see the Knights of Ren again, but she was surprised to see Master Skywalker, beard trimmed and looking even more haunted than she had ever seen him. He was holding his lightsaber. 

It was raining again. Her darkest dreams seemed to love rain.

Scenery suddenly appeared, as if it simply constructed itself into existence. There was a temple, a newer temple than the one on Ahch-To, in the distance. Master Skywalker was facing a building to the side of the temple and took a deep breath as he approached one of the many doors on the building. 

She followed behind him and entered the building.

The green glow of the lightsaber illuminated the sparsely decorated room. A pile of blankets sat on a mattress in the corner of the room. As Skywalker approached it, Rey looked closer and saw a young man hiding under all of the blankets.

A young Ben Solo – a young adult, from what she could tell, still probably older than herself – watched his uncle approach him with fear etched upon his face.

Skywalker raised the lightsaber with a single intent.

But Ben Solo lunged out of the way just in time and frantically ran out into the rain. Instead of following him, Skywaker stood in place and stared at his lightsaber in disbelief of what he almost just did

As Rey walked back outside the room, she saw a red crossguard lightsaber ignite. Screams soon followed.

The vision ended and the scene faded away. It was just her and Kylo Ren again. He looked pleased with himself, as if this vision justified every vile thing that he had ever done.

“Even if that were true, you didn’t have to kill the students,” she pointed out. 

He smiled. “Didn’t I?”

Rey shook her head. “No, you really didn’t.” It occurred to her that he was trying so hard to defend his actions that he could not see the faults in his own logic. 

Kylo Ren’s smile faltered. “They would have killed me. Skywalker would have turned them against me.”

“Do you know that for sure?” she questioned.

The look on his face told her that he actually wasn’t sure about that and that he was now rethinking his approach. The way he said, “Yes,” in faked confidence told Rey that he was trying to convince himself, too.

She wished she had her lightsaber now. For some reason, her dream wouldn’t allow her to have it on her person, which she found odd. All of her other dreams in the last couple of days let her have it. “You’re a liar,” she accused.

“Let the past die,” he said. “Kill it, if you have to. It’s the only way to become what you are meant to be.” He held out his hand, an offering. “I can show you the ways of the Force.”

Rey rolled her eyes. “I don’t need the help of a murderer.”

Then she willed herself to wake up.

* * *

When she rose from her bunk on the _Millennium Falcon,_ she was in a very sour mood and didn’t feel like eating breakfast, which surprised her. A few days ago, she would not have passed up an opportunity to eat after years of not knowing when her next meal would be. 

Rey wanted to go somewhere. Anywhere. But she wasn’t sure where. The sun wasn’t up yet and Skywalker would probably come looking for her to finish their lessons and then she and Chewbacca would pack up their things and head back to the Resistance empty-handed.

That is, if she still couldn’t convince Skywalker to come back with her.

She needed to move and do something. But Chewbacca was still asleep and she didn’t want to bother him by clanging around in the _Falcon_ and making repairs. Going outside and doing exterior repairs probably wouldn’t be any less loud in some cases.

So, she turned to the nearest viewport to gauge the weather and found that there was no rain and the dark sky didn’t show a hint of rainclouds. She could walk around, at least. 

Grabbing her poncho and her bag, Rey looked over at her quarterstaff laying on the floor. She decided to take that too. Her recent dreams had left her on edge and she would like to have some weapon on her person to make her feel more secure.

Walking along the cliff edge around the _Falcon,_ Rey took in the ocean and the sky and tried to memorize her surroundings. For years, she dreamed about this island wondering if it was a memory of where she came from. The island was beautiful, but what she found here had been a disappointment. The man she had been sent to retrieve had neither been the savior or the teacher she had been promised. 

She would leave within the day and she might never see this island or Luke Skywalker again. It seemed a little sad to her that a man that had become a living legend around the galaxy had resigned himself to solitude on this rocky, barren island. Would his legacy be blurred and distorted until no one was sure if he actually ever lived? Would his entire existence be lost to time, a myth and legend that arose to give an Empire-ruled galaxy hope that died out when the First Order arrive?

…Would he leave a legacy at all?

A strange rock formation appeared in her vision and she approached it where it sat on a small outcropping on the cliff. The stone was taller than she was and it looked like it had been weathered and eroded by the rain and wind over time. 

Rey sat her bag down on the ground and took her quarterstaff into her hands. She imagined the stone as a Knight of Ren and imagined herself fighting them. One on one, she could have decent odds with the right training and she was very comfortable with her quarterstaff. But many trained Force-users versus one untrained Force-user… well, the odds didn’t look so good.

But then it occurred to her that a quarterstaff would probably not hold up against a lightsaber. It was very likely that her quarterstaff would be easily cut in half by plasma blade. Metal was strong and sturdy, perfect for Jakku but not for a Jedi. She looked over at her bag and found the lightsaber sticking slightly out, like it was waiting for her to use it.

She reached for it and then after holding it away from her body, Rey ignited it. The blue glow and the humming sound gave her a new sense of power.

 _This_ could help her protect the people she cared about. She would never let Kylo Ren hurt her friends ever again. Not before going through her.

She imagined the stone as Kylo Ren this time, tall with anger radiating through every fiber of his being. She felt angry herself just thinking about him and all the terrible things he had done.

Each swing she took at the stone grew stronger and more precise in aim. She stopped short of actually making contact with the stone, knowing that the lightsaber would make quick work of her dummy. Her imaginary lightsaber duels became more elaborate as she went on, working her into a thin sheen of sweat on her skin.

“You need to relax more,” came Skywalker’s voice behind her. “There are no enemies here.”

With a startle, Rey accidentally swiped the lightsaber across the stone, cutting clean through it and removing a chunk from the side. She looked up at Master Skywalker with wide eyes and panted heavily.

“Sorry,” he said, a little sheepishly.

“You just took me by surprise.”

He waited a few moments to let her catch her breath. Then he motioned to her hand resting on the lightsaber. “Your grip is too tight,” he commented.

“Huh?” she looked down at her hand.

“It’s too tight. You need to know when to let it go. If you refuse to loosen your grip, you could damage a finger, a hand, or your arm.” Then he grimaced. “Or lose one.” He walked over to her and stood on her right side before gesturing to her hand with his. “May I?”

She realized he was asking for permission to touch her hand in order to correct her handling of the lightsaber. “Sure.”

He positioned her hand so that her thumb rested gently on the switch to ignite it on and off. Then he moved her other fingers around the hilt and loosened their grip. Rey found that even though this grip was gentler, she still held the lightsaber firmly. It wouldn’t be so loose as to wiggle around upon contact with other objects (or lightsabers) but not so firm that she was holding it in a death grip.

“There,” he said, pleased with this correction. “If you ever have to lose your weapon, this is the best grip to have to do so.”

“But wouldn’t that get me killed?” she asked.

“Not always,” he mused. “Sometimes I find that dropping my lightsaber makes my opponent think they have the upper hand, no pun intended.” He gestured to his mechanical hand with a goofy grin. “You can recall the lightsaber using the Force just fine, as you showed me when we first met.”

“Uh, yeah, I guess I did.”

She wanted to ask him about her dream and figured that this would be the best time. Rey did not believe what Kylo Ren had shown her in the dream, but she wanted to be absolutely sure.

“Master Skywalker,” she began, “I had a dream about your nephew. He… he keeps appearing in my dreams now. He showed me something. A vision.”

“Really?” Skywalker’s eyes had a hesitant curiosity in its gleam.

“About the night he destroyed your school.”

“Ah.” Skywalker nodded. “I can only imagine what he showed you. You’ve had a few of them before now, right?”

She nodded. “But he’s not… in my head, is he? He forced himself into my mind before.”

A grimace appeared on Skywalker’s face. “I’m not really sure, Rey. I never had visions like yours.”

Frowning with disappointment, Rey went back to her first question. “What _did_ happen at the school?”

His face darkened, his blue eyes stared out at the sea, as if he was trying to focus on something else while he spoke. “I saw darkness. I sensed it building in him. I’d seen it in all his training. Leia warned me, but it was far beyond what I ever imagined.”

Turning back to her, Master Skywalker grimaced. “This is such a difficult topic for me to talk about,” he explained. “Can I tell you while we spar?”

“Spar?”

“Yes,” he held up his walking stick. “Get your staff. We’ll practice form.”

When she returned with her quarterstaff, they stood in poise to fight, squaring each other up. Master Skywalker was an older man, but Rey knew that he had years on her with experience in battle.

She made the first strike, aiming to lightly tap his right side when he calmly dodged her attack.

He began to speak again, telling her his side of the story. “That night, I was patrolling the dorms one more time, making sure the younglings were all in bed and the teenagers were not trying to sneak out. I passed his room. I heard him talking to someone. Someone that was not there. So I ignited my lightsaber and opened the door.”

“Did you try to kill him?” Rey asked, a little afraid of his answer.

“I believed in the light in my father, who committed some of the worst atrocities the galaxy had ever seen. Why would I suddenly try to murder my nephew because I simply glimpsed the darkness inside him?” Skywalker pointed out as he made a strike at Rey’s legs, which she barely missed. “No, I opened the door and found nothing, told him I thought I heard an intruder to cover my intrusion, and then said goodnight.

Then he paused and pointed his walking stick at Rey’s knees. “Turn your knees in a little more.” When she corrected this, he nodded. “Yes, that’s a much better stance. Your balance will improve.”

Skywalker went back to the story. “Snoke had already turned his heart,” his speaking gained in pace as he continued his story but his eyes made him seem like he was far away from the island that they stood on. “He will bring destruction, pain, and death and the end of everything I love because of what he will become.” It was almost like a vision, a promise, the words that he chose. 

“That night, he gathered some of the older students, students that had become his followers, so to speak, and together they made a choice to join the dark side. I believe that they had planned this, at least shortly before that night. They set the school ablaze and when the chaos drew the younglings out, they killed them too.”

Tears had gathered in his eyes. By now, they had both stopped their sparring and stood as Master Skywalker finished his story. “I tried to protect them, but in the end, I could not. Ben and his followers ganged up on me. We fought, he ended up killing one of his own, who had tried to back out and run away. Then the school’s roof collapsed on me. I survived… somehow. I don’t remember a lot until I came to.”

But then he made one last big sigh. “I failed my nephew and my sister, and in my failure, children died.”

“It wasn’t your fault, though,” said Rey. “Kylo Ren _chose_ to kill them.”

“Yes,” agreed Skywalker. “He did… Still…” He paused. “There is still one more thing that I have not told you, Rey,” he confessed. “I went after him, followed him to wild, unexplored space, to a planet that I had never heard of before. That was where Snoke was waiting for him. I-I fought him, Snoke. I thought if I could kill him that I would be able to bring my nephew back home. But…”

“But?” Rey’s right eyebrow rose.

He sighed. “But Ben turned on me this time. He chased me off the planet. I couldn’t…” he gulped. “I couldn’t face Leia or Han to tell them what happened, so I left with the intention to either find a way to fix things or to never return.”

“And that’s how you got here,” Rey guessed, with some details omitted.

“Yes.” 

Rey knew that his nephew’s treachery had broken his heart, just like the hearts of Ben Solo’s parents. The dark side had called to him and he had been too weak to refuse. If Snoke had called to her, played with her mind for years while she was left on Jakku all alone, there was a good chance that she could have ended up in Kylo Ren’s position. She imagined herself angry and fueled by hate left over from her life on Jakku, unforgiving of her parents’ abandonment and unwilling to let go. She imagined that in her hands now was not her quarterstaff, but a red crossguard lightsaber, warning enemies of the danger and violence that they were about to face.

But, as Rey kept reminding herself, she was not Kylo Ren. She was Rey, a scavenger of Jakku that had destiny thrust upon her. Unlike her, Ben Solo had been surrounded by people that loved her where she only had herself to rely on and to trust. There were many times when hurting others would have been the easy way out, but Rey had never been one to want to hurt others. She could have sold BB-8 for portions, as tempting as the idea was, but she didn’t. Honestly, that choice was probably what got her into this mess in the first place. 

The dark side had called to her many times now, and she had refused it.

“I will not fail you like Ben Solo did,” she told the old Jedi. “I want to be the person that Luke Skywalker would want me to be.”

And at those words, a small smile appeared on Luke’s face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We've reached the halfway point of our story! Only nine more chapters to go!
> 
> Next week: one last Rey centered chapter.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke refuses. The Force answers. The darkness calls.

She tried to take a nap again before she and her friends needed to start packing their things up in preparation to leave Ahch-To. Really, Rey tried, but the thoughts of her failure to convince Luke to return to the Resistance with her swam around her mind, leaving her half-awake and anxious.

Before they parted ways that afternoon, Rey had asked him two things.

“Will you come back with us?” It was one final plea in hope that her time here had not been a complete waste. If she went back empty-handed, she would have failed her only mission and one of utmost importance to Leia.

Luke had shaken his head. “No, you don’t need me. I’m not… well, I’m not the man I once was.”

And so, while looking downward at the ground in disappointment and trying to hide her sadness and frustration, Rey asked her other question. “You never told me. Why must the Jedi end? Why now?”

Sitting down on a large stone, Luke had sighed. “The Jedi Order had failed everyone. They forgot their own teachings, began to take sides instead of remaining the peaceful middleman. They allowed Darth Sidious to rise and seduce my father to the dark side. You know only a few of the atrocities that Darth Vader committed. There were too many to count.”

Rey had not seen the point of this. “But you brought your father back to the light, I thought?” 

Running a hand through his hair, Luke had tried one more desperate attempt to make Rey understand. “I did, but that didn’t matter much in the end. He still did what he did. No, the Empire continued to hold on for months until they had nothing left to grasp. And they still returned, as the First Order.” He had looked up at Rey. “While hiding out in unexplored space, the First Order happened upon Snoke, who offered them his power. They took it. And Snoke had already been watching my nephew for years and you know what happened next.

“The thing is, I’m not sure if the galaxy really needs the Jedi anymore.”

That confession shocked Rey. The galaxy was already operating without the Jedi and it was on the brink of war. “Yes, it does. If it weren’t for you, the Empire might have won.”

 _“Might,”_ he had spat. “It _might_ have won. I, a single Force-user helped but the rest of the Rebellion had done most of the work. I made the shot on the Death Star and played a part in ending the Sith. But we do not know what would have happened if I had not been there.” He stood up in haste, Rey sensing that he wanted to leave as soon as he could. The conversation they were having was putting him on edge. “Something is not right with the Jedi code, even after I took liberties to change the parts that had played a part in the fall of the Jedi Order decades ago. The dark side is a powerful thing, and it seduced my students even under my watchful eye. I could not save them.” Then he had looked at Rey, observing her with a critical gaze like he was daring her to correct him. “But you have seen what the Resistance is capable of without a Jedi on their side.”

“It’s Snoke and Kylo Ren that I’m worried about,” Rey had pointed out. “They are Force-users; powerful ones. The Resistance might be able to shoot down the First Order but they don’t stand a chance against those two. We need a Jedi to level the field.”

“My answer is still no. I want to put that life behind me. You should never have come here.”

After that, he had left without a word – not so much as even a glance behind him. His departure was silent and eerie; it actually made her heart clench in pain and her stomach churn. Rey wondered if she should seek him out one last time to say goodbye at the very least, but she worried that trying might aggravate him even more and make them do something that they both regretted. 

Yes, leaving now with things as they were would be far better than leaving after making things even worse.

But she was so afraid to return to the Resistance without him. Leia would be disappointed and everyone else would likely look to her as their savior if they decided that she was worth the title after coming back empty-handed. The thought of everyone silently revering her as either their last hope or their biggest failure made her want to never return to them. Luke may have been able to handle the pressure in his youth, but Rey did not want to face that destiny without him.

Maybe since Finn was awake, she would ask him if he still wanted to leave for the Outer Rim. She might take him up on that offer this time. Being the galaxy’s last hope seemed like an exhausting job. With Finn, she could at least enjoy his company while enjoying a simpler life elsewhere. Imagining them traveling the galaxy together, world-hopping, while taking on odd jobs, seemed ideal at the moment and she held on to the little grain of joy and comfort that the thought provided her.

As she lay in her bunk on the _Falcon_ stressing over what she should do, she finally was able to drift into an uneasy, troubled sleep.

_“Wait! Come back!”_

The same nightmare that she’s had for years had returned. She relived the fear and the tears, the grip on her arm, and her pleas to the fleeing ship over and over throughout her lifetime. She thought that it would get easier with time, reliving the memory, but time did not scrape away at the pain as she had hoped. In fact, at times it seemed like it just got worse.

They never returned for her.

What happened to them? She wondered as she watched the scene again.

 _Come here,_ a chilling presence filled her mind. It had no voice, no physical body, but she distinctly heard the words in her head.

“Where?” she called out. 

Suddenly her world shifted.

She was back on Ahch-To, outside, and staring at the entrance of a cave at the side of a cliff. It was more of a scar than a gaping entrance, thin and just big enough for a human to squeeze in. Judging by the scenery when she looked upward, she was standing to the north of the island.

 _The answers you seek will be found, if you come here,_ the soundless voice said again.

Quickly opening her eyes, Rey returned to reality and sat up, tears rolling down her face. Wiping them away with her sleeves, she rolled herself out of bed and reached for her quarterstaff that was sitting propped against the wall next to her bunk and grabbed the large piece of fabric that she had been wearing for outerwear.

She’d be back soon, she told herself as she lowered the _Falcon’s_ ramp to go outside. But if the cave had answers, she would go. She had to, if she wanted any hope to finally put her mind at ease. Fourteen years was a long time and she didn’t want to wait anymore.

* * *

In the old stone hut that he had claimed for his own, Luke sat in the meditative position and opened himself to the Force for the first time in years.

The look of disappointment that Rey had given him made him feel guilty and now that he was alone with his thoughts, that guilt was eating away at him. He ran away from her like a coward. He was disappointed in himself, too, but she was asking too much of him. He was too old, his grip on the Force now too fragile, to be of any help to her or the Resistance.

But now he questioned if his half-conceptualized idea that the galaxy did not need Jedi was wrong. After all, he had begun to convince himself of this in an emotional episode of self-pity and self-loathing. Perhaps, even if he wasn’t as strong as he was in his prime, Luke Skywalker the Jedi was still needed.

The Force would not let him rest.

And it also seemed that the Force was going to answer him for once, if the flicker of it that hit his senses and the familiar presence of an old friend was anything to indicate. 

The figure of a small, large-eared creature manifested within the hut. From the projection of the Force, the sentient looked to be an eerie blue, but Luke knew from knowing him in real life that his skin had been green and that he never was one to give straight answers. Of course the Force would send him.

“Master Yoda,” he acknowledged. He hoped that he had not offended the ghost by cutting off all contact with him.

“Young Skywalker.” Yoda smiled.

“I feel lost, Master Yoda,” Luke admitted to his old teacher, ashamed that even at his age he could not make sense of the galaxy and his own thoughts and feelings. He thought as a young adult that by this age he would be as wise as his masters before him. “I came here looking for answers and found nothing that told me what I did wrong. I thought that meant that the Jedi had no place in the galaxy anymore. Now I’m not so sure.”

Yoda closed his eyes and twisted his face up in all seriousness. “Hmmm?” Then he began to laugh in the old playful manner of his. “Ah, Skywalker. Missed you I have.”

Luke felt guilty again and his face showed it. “I’m sorry.”

“Undone, the past cannot be.” Yoda shook his head, looking serious again. “So it is time for the Jedi Order to end? Perhaps. Perhaps not. Time it is… hmmm…? To look past a pile of old books… hmmm?” That knowing grin appeared again.

And this is when Luke realized that he might have trouble making the right choice. Yoda’s words often took time to think through. There were things that his old master had said to him decades ago that he still wasn’t entirely sure that he had worked out.

“The sacred Jedi texts,” he sighed, thinking back to the old scriptures that he spent hours hunched over in a desperate attempt to discover how to make things right again.

The wrinkles of Yoda’s forehead raised in interest. “Oh, read them, have you?”

“Well, I…”

“Page turners, they were not. Yes, yes, yes, wisdom they held, but that library contained nothing that the girl Rey did not already possess.”

With a startle, Luke stared in shock at Yoda, realizing that even on this island that he was never alone. That also meant that Yoda would have seen everything he had said to Rey and how poor of a teacher he had been to her. Not that she really seemed to need him that much. Rey seemed to take to the Force like a Gungan took to the water. She seemed to grasp concepts in a way that took him years to master and her understanding of the Force seemed far more natural. He had once had a few students that were like her, what he would call as naturally talented – some people simply picked up on things easier than others - but they had been lost with his school.

“Been watching you, I have. Would have learned what you taught her on her own, Rey would have.” Yoda laughed again. “Ah, Skywalker, still looking to the horizon. Never here now, hmmm? The need in front of your nose, hmmm?”

“I was weak. Unwise.” Luke hung his head in shame.

Yoda’s eyes reflected his sadness. “Lost Ben Solo, we did. Lose Rey, we must not.”

“I can’t be what she or the Resistance needs me to be,” Luke insisted, pleading for someone to finally understand.

“A choice you have. Stop being a Jedi, you can. Heeded my words, did you? Pass on what you have learned. Strength. Mastery. But weakness, folly. Failure also. Yes, failure most of all. The greatest teacher, failure is.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Luke, we are what they grow beyond. That is the true burden of all masters. With or without you, to fight for the light, Rey will continue.”

“She is strong,” observed Luke. “And she amazes me. She has gone through more tribulation in her short life than many experience in a lifetime, and yet she is almost not swayed by the darkness. From what she has told me, she has had many opportunities to do the wrong thing and yet she always tries to do what is right.” 

“Do or do not, there is no try,” Yoda reminded him.

“Right.” Luke thought for a moment and something occured to him. “I think my problem was that I wanted to be too much like the old Jedi Order. I think that may be where I went wrong. I do not know enough to reestablish something so large and so intricate within a short time. And the Jedi Order fell for a reason. I may have done away with some of the old teachings, the ones that contributed to the fall, but I might have ignored other ideas that no longer fit with the current galaxy.”

“Change, much has, since the Jedi Order fell,” Yoda agreed. “To bring back the Jedi, much must change. Quickly, it will not happen. Slow, change must be.”

And then, Luke realized something that he had missed all along. “I will be the one to reestablish the Jedi Order, but I will never live to see it be returned to its glory.” It made him a little sad to think that, but he understood that the old Jedi Order did not rise up overnight. It took millennia for it to reach the point that it had when it fell. He would be the founder of this new order and if he was successful, he would be remembered generations from now. He would sow the seeds of a new light to lead the galaxy forward.

“Hmmm…” Yoda smiled while thinking the idea over. “Yes, your legacy, that will be.” And then he frowned, as if an awful thought had just struck him. “But be careful. Young Rey struggles within herself. Remained in the light, she has, but might not always.”

“I have faith in her,” said Luke with conviction. The promise she had made to him a few hours ago was a strong memory in his mind. When she told him that she would not fail him like his nephew had, she said it with such confidence that Luke did not doubt her.

“Know where she is now, do you?”

And with a puzzled expression, Luke closed his eyes and meditated. He reached out to the Force and mapped the island and the life that lived on it. 

He looked for the _Falcon_ first and found Chewbacca and a trace of life that was a porg, but Rey was nowhere to be found. It seemed a little odd to him that she would be out at this hour, so soon before she was to leave, but she had wandered to the temple in the dead of the night before.

The temple was the next place he checked, but she was not there either.

Luke searched again, this time surveying the whole island. When he found her, she was to the north, standing in front of a dark presence.

 _That_ cave.

And for the first time, Luke felt a sense of dread and fear for Rey. He knew what was in that cave was not good nor bad, but darkness, like light, is not always a neutral presence. The darkness had a particular way of warping the galaxy and quietly changing the lifeforms that were trapped in its grasp. He saw it work through his nephew, morphing him from a cheerful, bright-eyed child into the man that he had seen standing at Snoke’s side in loyalty and devotion, believing himself to be the product of destiny that the dark side willed. Even without an intent, the darkness was seductive and dangerous.

Luke knew this side of the Force but Rey, he could take a good guess, did not. That was why he had to get to her and fast.

* * *

Upon approaching the cave, Rey realized why the presence had felt so familiar to her in the dream. She had felt the chill before when she had meditated with Luke that first time and in the dreams that Kylo Ren had inhabited. This was the darkness that she had sensed below the island that day.

The dark side had called to her again, and she had answered it without question. She didn’t even fight its temptation this time.

She was a little disappointed in herself for doing so, but she really wanted answers and a cave did not seem all that sinister. If she went in and found herself uncomfortable or unequipped to handle the dark side, she would just turn back. It would just be like exploring a rusty old Star Destroyer, she told herself.

But an old Star Destroyed seemed a lot less dangerous than the dark side.

Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, Rey then walked straight in. She had a glowrod with her, so she was able to at least somewhat see where she was going.

The cave, however, was not dark and damp like Rey anticipated. Instead, a few feet in, she found herself standing on a flat outcropping of stone that ended in a cliff just above the sea level. There was nothing else here.

Nothing except a hole that was surrounded by moss along the rim. 

She approached the hole and shined her light down it. The darkness was too thick for the light to come through. 

Rey realized that this was where she needed to go, but she knew it was also immensely stupid to jump into a hole without knowing how long she would fall or if she’d be able to get back. She looked around and found a stone big enough that she knew she would hear it when it hit the bottom – or well, if she didn’t hear it hit, then she’d know she’d best stay out.

Taking a step, she slid with a gasp and found herself falling into the hole. With a splash, she found herself submerged in icy water and struggled to pull herself up to the surface to breathe. She did not know how to swim and she was terrified that she would drown in the freezing temperature. Drowning, she had heard, was an awful, slow, and painful way to die.

It felt like something was pulling at her and she began to wonder if she slid in the hole after all or if something had dragged her in. With a forceful kick, she managed to force herself away from that pulling sensation and desperately reached for the water’s surface, grabbing for a slick stone ledge that she pulled herself onto.

She found herself in another cave filled with icy salt water and algae-covered walls. The tide hid it when it was high and revealed it when it was low. She saw nothing particularly dangerous in the cave so she opted to explore.

The walls of the cave were glossy and cracked, not what she was expecting to find down here. She would have guessed that the sea would have smoothed stone but leave it with a matted finish. Perhaps the stone was a certain kind that caused the glossy look. Her pale, shivering face reflected in the shine of the stone wall, looking back at her like a natural, dark mirror.

But then the stone reflected something peculiar. Actually, it was no longer actually reflecting reality. Instead, Rey saw herself – or rather an older, sickly version of herself – back on Jakku.

She looked to be in her mid-thirties, her hair still in its signature three buns and her body still malnourished, but she looked sick and tired. There were dark circles under her eyes and she shook even when she tried to stay still. 

Unable to go out scavenging because she was too weak to do so, older Rey slowly walked over to the wall in the hollowed out AT-AT and scratched another mark in. The marks had covered the entire machine interior now.

Older Rey sighed and clambered into the hammock once more before reaching for the old makeshift pilot doll and holding it close. She closed her eyes and went to sleep.

Rey realized that her older-self was never going to wake up again.

“But that’s not real and it won’t happen,” she said to herself. She had found BB-8 and Finn had found her. Once, dying alone on Jakku was very much a reality and Rey knew that had she not left, her life expectancy would have been very short. Now, that was no longer her world. She would never go back to the junkyard world, scavenging for scraps of metal, and knowing the pains of starvation.

Something told her to ask the mirror to show her something else, to demand and beg for more. Another more sensible part told her that she needed to break away from the lure of the reflections, knowing that the darkness wanted to trap her down here forever. If she stayed long enough, she would drown when the tide came in.

But it wouldn’t hurt to stick around for a few more minutes, she told that part of her brain. She could get what she came here for and then leave content.

“Show me with my family,” she told the mirror and the scene shifted before her eyes.

First, it morphed into a vision of her on the _Millennium Falcon,_ working with Han and Chewbacca on a broken compressor as they laughed about how old the beloved freighter was. Then that life morphed into another one, with Rey grinning as she and Luke practiced with lightsabers, her wearing gray Jedi robes. Another change showed her back at the Resistance, laughing with Finn over a game of sabacc for sweets with BB-8 standing at her heels, beeping in encouragement for her to lay her hand down to take all the candies for herself.

But the next time the scene morphed, it showed her something that she did not want.

Rey sat on sleek black steps, wearing black leather and staring ahead blankly, a pike lay across her lap. Next to her, Kylo Ren sat in a similar position.

Someone called to her and she rose and walked forward to a golden throne where…

“No, not,” she said. “That’s not a family. Show me my parents. Why did they leave me?”

The reflection began to shift its images again, but nothing clear. Just shadows. Rey saw herself clearly reflected and she saw two shadowed figures standing next to her. She lifted her hand up and touched it to the cool surface of the stone as if she could reach out to the figures and make them clear.

 _I'll come back for you, sweetheart,_ the image echoed.

Rey wanted to ask: why did you leave me? Did you want me? Did you die? Did something bad happen? Who are you? _Where_ are you? But as her hand sat quietly against the stone, she found no answers. The only thing that she found was an overwhelming feeling of emptiness.

When she removed her hand, the reflection faded and Rey found herself only staring back into her own tear-stained face. She begged the stone to show her something else, but only the glossy black sheen of the stone remained.

“Oh, no, no, _no.”_

She was disappointed, but she wondered if the reflection would have just shown her what she wanted to see instead of reality. The people that had seen may not have been her parents, instead, just how she imagined them. The cave was probably just showing her some vague detail shaped by her own mind in an effort to trap her there, enchanted by the visions.

“It’s a trick, you know, by the darkness,” said Luke. She had sensed his presence as he entered the cave, but she had been too wrapped up in the reflection to acknowledge him. “It’ll show you want you want to see, make you angry, heartbroken, afraid. Then it will use your emotions against you. It’ll keep you here until the darkness claims you for itself; if you stay under its influence, you won’t live to see another day."

Sighing, Rey moved away from the wall. “I think, somehow, I knew that. But I just wanted some answers. I’m desperate for that and the darkness knows that I would do anything to get them.”

“Your parents left you with a promise that they never kept,” Luke said with a hint of pity in his eyes. Rey hated when people looked at her like that. Recalling that she had never told him about her abandonment, she realized that he must have witnessed that part of the reflection. He was dry, she observed. He had gotten down there without falling into the water somehow. “I understand. I came here too when I first arrived. The darkness promised me that I’d know the reason for my failing. I realized that it was a trick, luckily, before it was too late.”

“I thought I’d find answers here,” she confessed, still crying. “But I was wrong… I’ve never felt so alone.” She breathed in deeply and sat down on the floor of the cave, trying to calm herself.

Sitting next to her, Luke placed his hand on her shoulder, a gesture of comfort and comradery. “You’re not alone.”

Rey felt touched by that gesture and wished that she and the Jedi Master could have had more time together. It was like they had started to warm up to each other since they met in the temple, slowly chipping away at the wall between them.

While she had accepted the fact that Luke was not going to come back with her, she still wanted to offer the warmth of friendship to him. He had come down to this place to get her, after all. He had seemed so afraid of the darkness before.

Reaching out, she placed her hand, skin still damp from the salt water, on his outstretched arm.

“Neither are you,” she replied.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There was a bit of _Last Jedi_ drama at my home this week. I still have only seen the film in scenes and have no interest in seeing it in full. My father rented it this weekend and only got halfway through before shutting it off. I actually found him with his head in his hands, chanting, "This is stupid," over and over and he got really upset. He says that he is done with Star Wars, even though he loved _The Force Awakens,_ so it looks like I will be going to IX alone if I decide to sit through it. He did say that Finn had possibly the best character/stayed in-character for what he saw, which is the first time that I've met someone in my personal life that doesn't think Kylo Ren is the best character in the trilogy. 
> 
> I had really hoped that in TLJ that Luke would have eventually become the mentor that Rey deserved after a couple of scenes of him refusing to help and her slowly breaking down the wall between them. Mark Hamill really is not happy about this either. I wish he could get a comedy film/tv show; he's really funny and I'd love to see more of that side of him.
> 
> Also, did they steal the mirror scene from Harry Potter? Going back to source materials made me feel like I was reading about the Mirror of Erised on LSD.
> 
> Next week, we're setting up the scene for the Battle of Crait. All of our key players will be there.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finn and Rose succeed. The Resistance arrives on Crait. Luke decides.

_Location: The Raddus, Space_

When the stolen ship arrived back to the _Raddus_ in under four hours, Finn and Rose were all smiles and Poe greeted them with an even bigger smile. 

“Finn! Rose! Am I glad to see you! Where’s my droid?” Poe looked around the dock until BB-8 came charging up to him. Reunited, Poe crouched down and affectionately rubbed BB-8 on his spherical body. He wasn’t sure if the droid had any sensors on that part of him, but BB-8 seemed to enjoy all the attention.

Finn had a good dream on the way back, though he could not remember what it was about. He woke up smiling and felt rested. Now, he stood at the door of the ship and felt happy as he watched pilot and droid reunite.

Standing up, Poe pulled Finn into a hug. “Finn, you did it!”

Pulling back, Finn said, “I had a lot of help,” and gestured at Rose who was just grabbing a few of her things. She had installed her power baffler on the way back and deemed it ready to be of use if it was ever needed.

“Both of you,” Poe smiled, “good work.”

Rose looked a little awestruck that Commander Poe Dameron, best pilot of the Resistance, was talking to her with such zeal, but she quickly shook off her shock and went right to business. “We need to get to a tech,” she said.

“Right!” agreed Poe as he suddenly shifted gears. “Yeah, yeah, follow me.”

* * *

“Packet removed!” Connix announced happily about an hour later, with a hint of relief in her voice. “Trackers disabled.”

Everyone in Operations could hear cheering outside from the Command deck, but General Organa still looked weary, knowing that a false sense of security could easily be the end of them. “And we are safe to land somewhere?” she wanted to confirm.

“We’re good to go,” said Connix with confidence.

The techs were told to prepare to make the jump to hyperspace and soon, the familiar pull of traveling at lightspeed hit the _Raddus_ with the other Resistance transports following after. The temporary refuge was now only within hours of reach.

The general sighed in relief as she hunched over in her chair. Then she looked out to her side and reached out to Finn, who was standing beside her, and pinched the material of his jacket sleeve between her fingers. “Thank you,” she told him.

“It was no problem,” he said.

“Really?” She arched her eyebrow, not buying the compliant wave-off.

“Well…”

She smirked. “Thought so.”

Across the room, Vice Admiral Holdo was speaking enthusiastically to Rose, who looked like she was stuttering a little while she spoke. She had that awestruck look on her face again. Poe watched on and patted Finn on the back.

“You guys are heroes,” he told Finn. “I bet she never thought that she’d be called that.”

And Finn made a little grin back. “No, she didn’t.”

Standing up, the general cleared her throat, asking for everyone’s attention. She was ready to give new orders and everyone was eager to move forward. “Techs, contact our other ships, let them know that we are safe to land. In an hour, we will start the landing process.”

The techs went right to work and Poe and Rose quickly left the room to do their jobs to help where they were needed. This left Finn standing awkwardly next to General Organa. He hadn’t told her what he thought about joining the Resistance yet.

She sighed. “Let’s hope our allies get to us first before the First Order finds us.”

Looking nervous, Finn shifted in his spot and looked at her. “I thought you said it was a temporary base and that you had supplies there?”

“There _should_ be a reserve of fuel, though I’m not sure if it would be enough for all our fleet. We checked monthly to add supplies and make sure the base hasn’t been compromised,” she grimaced, “but it would be our luck to arrive only to find out that someone had already been there.”

Finn groaned. “Oh, don’t say that!”

* * *

_Location: Crait_

Even though it was an unfamiliar planet, Poe had never felt more relieved to be standing on solid ground than he did at that very moment. It might sound cliché, but he almost wanted to kiss it.

As he walked off the ramp of the _Raddus,_ Poe took in his surroundings. At first glance, he thought the planet was covered in ice and snow, as the ground cover was almost an otherworldly white and nearly blinding when the sunlight hit it just right. But the temperature and the air didn’t feel right for an ice planet.

The world around him was eerily flat and the ground was patterned in crisscrossing waves. Far away, in the distance, he could barely see the outline of cliffs and mountains. There was nothing in the flatlands that would provide any form of cover, though he noticed that in the direction that the Resistance was headed, there seemed to be trenches carved into the field. He wondered who built those and how long they had been there.

They were in the late hours of sundown, and the deep red streaks across the sky made Poe feel uneasy. It was almost ominous to him, like it was setting the mood for something more to happen, something possibly worse than what they had experienced in the last two days.

He looked down to where his boots had first made contact with the ground. The marks he left as he dragged the toe of his boot pulled up a red dirt. It reminded him, to only heighten his sense of anxiety, like a streak of blood. It wasn’t snow, but the texture of the ground beneath him didn’t feel like any dirt he had ever felt before. It felt pebble-like, packed together, and made a grinding, crackling sound as he walked. Some sort of strange mineral, perhaps. He had never seen pure white pebbles like this before.

A soldier that had just exited the _Raddus_ bent down to touch the ground. He brought a handful of the mineral ground to his face and sniffed. “It’s salt,” he declared.

Well, that made sense, even if it was a bit unnecessary to announce. General Organa did say it had been a planet full of abandoned mines. Why it had been abandoned, Poe didn’t know. But he felt he might be able to use the abandoned facilities to the Resistance’s advantage. Those trenches, to start with, even if they were rundown after years of disuse. That probably meant that they would have to explore the abandoned mines and decide if they were at risk of a cave-in, too. The Resistance may have finally arrived at an appropriate temporary base, but they couldn’t risk losing anyone else. They had been a relatively small group to start with, but they seemed to had lost a fifth of their number during the evacuation. Four-hundred was sizable, but nowhere near the size or might of the First Order.

Out of the corner of his eye, Poe spotted a strange little creature sniffing along the ground. As he got a good look at it, he surmised that the creature wasn’t a threat. It looked canine-like and very elegant with slender limbs and snout. Its coat made it look like the crystal formations that cropped up randomly on the salt field. It was actually a very beautiful creature, he wished that he knew the name of it.

He watched as the general and Finn exited the _Raddus._ They were currently discussing how to repay Maz for all her help. The general promised him that as soon as they were safe and on another secure base, they would call her. They did not have a lot of funds remaining, being so strapped for credits from the beginning, but Maz was fair and the Resistance would make sure that they would show her their gratitude.

“If we have the manpower to spare,” said Finn, “she could really use the help rebuilding.”

Poe could tell that General Organa was pleased with this idea and she nodded her head. 

“If we have the manpower to spare,” she agreed. “Yes, I think that would be appropriate.”

He took the opportunity to approach them to get his orders. He really yearned to explore the area more, but the general’s orders came first and there was a lot of volunteers that needed help.

“Ma’am,” he greeted. 

“Commander Dameron,” she acknowledged.

“Your orders?” he asked.

She looked around. “Help everyone off the transport. See that everyone is helped with getting all our supplies into the base. Then get your pilots situated. We won’t be able to move the Starfighters for now, but there are some older craft lying around that might be usable. Report to the Vice Admiral if anything needs to be brought up.”

Poe wasn’t quite ready to completely trust Holdo again, but orders were orders, and she seemed to be trying extra hard to work better with those under her command. She was currently joining the effort to move some expensive tech equipment into the mine. _Redeeming herself._ Yes, that seemed to fit and if she continued this attitude, Poe could find it in his heart to genuinely want to work with her again. She made a potentially dangerous mistake, but even Poe was not excused from doing that himself when he was flying missions. He nodded, pleased with this development, and headed back into the _Raddus_ with BB-8 at his heels.

Finn decided to head to where Communications was setting up in hopes that he would be allowed to send a message to Rey. It could easily be a while that the Resistance had to base here for safety and not only did he want to tell her where they were, he wanted to tell her everything that had happened. Most of all, he just wanted to hear her voice again, to assure his anxious and fretting mind that she was alive and safe. 

He looked down at the bracelet again. It continued to blink blue in timed, spaced-out intervals. Finn had begun to find the bracelet to be an object of comfort over the last day. Until Rey returned, he would hold on to the beacon and if he had to, he would take it somewhere far away to make sure that Rey did not return with Skywalker to danger.

But he smiled quietly to himself as he walked into the entrance of the dark mine. Maybe soon he would get to see her again.

* * *

After Lieutenant Connix and her crew were able to get what they needed set up, the Communications room seemed a lot livelier. It was a dark and stuffy room full of an ages-old collection of dust that agitated Finn’s nostrils and made him want to sneeze, but the room was a lot more at ease than the feeling it had on the _Raddus._

The general sent out a mass message to their allies in the Outer Rim. She thought it would be their best bet to get out of the First Order’s line of fire while the remainder of the D’Qar base was able to reorganize themselves. They might have to split the group up and send them to different bases, but they would figure that out when the time came.

Finn looked up at the general with hope. “Ma’am,” he began. “I was wondering if I can… well, can I send Rey a message?”

General Organa’s gentle smile was warm. “I think that is one of the best ideas I’ve heard all day.”

He hopped up and stood up to write what he wanted to say on a spare notepad that he found lying around. It would have to be brief since encryption was involved, but he was sure that he could fit “I’m fine” and “It’s safe to find us now” into one message. 

But it didn’t seem like it was enough. A short brief message didn’t seem right to send. Not after everything they went through together and certainly not after he had seen the recording from BB-8 of her standing at his bedside after he was brought back to the Resistance.

“Is there a way I can record and get it to her?” he asked.

The General pursed her lips, it seemed a little riskier, but... “Connix?” she asked.

“It should be safe, but make it short and don’t mention the name of our location,” Connix instructed. “I can’t encrypt a recording the same way I can a signal or message.”

Finn smiled, excited. “Got it.” He looked around, but BB-8 wasn’t in the room. “Uh…” he started. “Can I get a droid?”

Another droid was called in to help. Finn had it follow him to a quiet corner of the room. The droid was also a BB unit, but it was a dark navy blue and had a flat head, unlike BB-8. One of the technicians introduced the droid as 2BB-2

“I just need a couple of minutes to think of what I want to say, alright?” he said to the droid. “Then I’ll be ready to do the recording,”

2BB-2 bleeped in the affirmative and waited patiently next to Finn in the corner.

Connix was busy looking over the radars that were placed in the room. She was picking up something… With a startle, she looked into the source of the intruder, hoping it was just a fluke in the system and that a native creature had accidentally created the source of the signal. That was a common enough of an occurrence when the equipment was adjusted to a new environment. A bit more of an investigation and…

It got worse. The dot on the radar was no longer alone…

Her eyes widened.

“General,” she called out urgently. “Can I show you something?”

The General stood up from her chair and walked over to the screen that Connix was standing in front of. In his corner, Finn could hear them talking and looked over to them. The General’s expression was not a happy one.

“Can you make an estimate of exactly what it is?” she asked the lieutenant. 

A couple of other techs made their way over, pointing to the screen and muttering quietly among the small group. They nodded, grimy and then the general made a deep sigh.

“Finn, are you recording?” she called.

He responded, “Not yet.”

“Could you come here for a moment?”

Reaching them, he joined the group circled awkwardly and crowded around the radar. He noted the arrangement of the red dots and knew exactly what he was looking at.

“What will the First Order likely do?” General Organa pressed. “It looks like they brought in the whole damn fleet.”

“Oh no, not the _entire fleet,”_ Finn corrected and this made everyone stare quietly at him in disbelief. “This is just a portion of what they got.”

The general cursed. “And the New Republic just let them grow…”

“Is this a blockade?” one of the techs, a man that looked to be younger than Finn and had features that reminded him of Rose asked. Finn wondered if the tech was also from the doomed Otomok system and was remembering how the First Order destroyed his home.

He shook his head. “They’ll likely just come in to try to wipe us out. Takes less time than starving us and I know that they want to flex their muscles more. What better way than to destroy the Resistance while the entire galaxy is watching?”

General Organa nodded, trusting Finn’s judgement and agreeing that this was their likely plan. She stood to the middle of the room and raised her voice. “The First Order is coming here,” she announced. “Their timing always seems to be just _perfect,”_ she added with a growl. “We need to call our troops to get ready for battle.”

“How did they find us?” asked C-3PO, voicing what everyone in the room wanted to know.

Leia looked over at Connix and her techs and they shrugged, not offering an explanation. 

“We’re not sure,” she sighed, pressing her fingers to her forehead, as if the situation was causing her a headache. “Search the base. See if you can find anything that led them to us.”

A group of officers stood up and rushed out of the room. Finn felt a prickle of panic settle in the pit of his stomach as he returned to his corner of the room with the droid.

He looked to 2BB-2. “Start the recording,” he told them.

They gave him the signal to tell him that it was ready.

Finn didn’t need a script now, knowing exactly what he needed to say. He looked into the droid’s lens and started to speak.

* * *

_Location: Ahch-To_

Rey stood underneath the _Falcon_ as she looked out towards the horizon. The ship provided her cover from the downpour that was currently hitting the island at full force. It was chilly and the wind the loose strands of hair on her head into her face. It was annoying, but something else occupied her thoughts at the moment.

Rain.

In all her memories, Rey could not recall ever experiencing rain. She thought everything about it was wonderful. How the raindrops felt cool on her skin, how it smelled, how it literally was water falling from the sky. If someone had said that was possible on Jakku, she would have laughed at them. The only storms that ever happened there were the kind that kicked up sand and dust and buried everything in its path into the sand to never be seen again.

She loved the sound most of all.

The patter of it against the cliffs and the Falcon was soothing. Rey thought she could listen to that every night and find contentment falling asleep to the sound. Maybe when she got back to the Resistance, she could see if she could find a recording of the sound to keep.

After she spent a little time outside, Rey reentered the _Falcon_ and removed her soaking poncho to set out to dry where the raindrops wouldn’t puddle on the floor. The rain was cold, but the _Falcon’s_ interior heating had been set to a comfortable level by Chewbacca. They were about to leave and Rey wanted to spend a few more moments with the island.

Rey went to the cockpit to sit and watch the rain for a little while longer. She sat in the pilot’s seat and stared out the window. The seas were not as calm as they were earlier, but the waves did not seem especially dangerous. The sky however, was an endless space of dull gray with no breaks in the clouds. She guessed that meant it would probably rain for quite a while longer but honestly, she really had no idea.

She looked down at the controls and found that the light that indicated messages was flashing red. She hit a switch and found that there were two messages waiting.

The Resistance had finally contacted her and not a moment too soon.

The first message, it turned out, was a distress call from a base on a planet that Rey had never heard of. She supposed that’s why they hadn’t heard from the Resistance in the time she had been there (though after she did a quick calculation, the four days she had been on this island had only been the equivalent of two in space time). She had left knowing that the D’Qar base had been compromised, so that meant that the Resistance had to rush out to find a new one.

The second message, to her excitement, was from Finn.

Rey smiled when she saw it was a recording too. She would think to ask R2 if he could help her record her own message to send, to let him know that she was on her way back.

However, Finn’s message was nothing like what she was hoping to see. Instead of, “I’m awake. I’m fine. Come back soon,” or something to that degree, Finn’s image emerged from the projection with an urgent look on his face and a dire message.

_“Rey, the First Order, they’ve found us. The Resistance is in trouble. I don’t know where you are, but don’t come here. Protect Skywalker, if you’ve found him.”_

Then his face changed from urgency to thoughtful, even a bit sad.

_“Stay safe.”_

Horrified as the message cut away, Rey stood up from the pilot’s seat and rushed to find Chewbacca. Even if Finn wanted her to stay away, she had to help them. The Resistance – _Finn_ – was in danger and needed their help. She had to get Luke—

Would Luke even go with her though? Even to help his sister, would Luke refuse to go back and help the galaxy once again?

Chewbacca was replacing a light in one of the corridors while the porg watched on. It was an easy reach for him, with his height and armspan. R2 was also helping with repairs by rolling around and inspecting every panel that was within his sensory range.

“Chewie,” she said urgently. “The Resistance needs our help!”

He stopped what he was doing and placed his tools back into the kit on the floor. 

“Get the _Falcon_ ready,” she told him. “I’m gonna go find Luke—"

[Are you going to tell him?]

Rey sighed. “I am. But if decides not to come with us, I’m not going to argue. There’s no time.”

 _I need his help,_ she didn’t voice, the doubt in her mind of exactly how much help she would actually be was eating away at her.

Chewbacca nodded and moved to get the _Falcon_ ready to leave. Rey grabbed her wet poncho off the railing and pulled it back over her head. She shivered at the unpleasantly cold feeling, but she had to ignore it for now.

She practically slid down the ramp, but she regained her footing and ran up the wet stone stairs to find Luke. Rey had to be careful. The stones had become dangerously wet and the wind was harsh enough to make her stumble on her feet. Her boots were sturdy and were treated to keep the material from soaking through, but the rubber soles did not provide her with the best traction for this kind of situation.

It took a lot longer than she wanted to, and now she was drenched and cold, but she managed to get to Luke’s hut with the sheet of X-wing metal used for a door.

Rey didn’t bother knocking. She burst through the door to find Luke cooking a meal over the low glow of a small fire.

“Rey, what—?”

“The Resistance needs help,” she panted. “We’re leaving. You can come with us or not; I don’t care.” That last part was a a lie, but that stubborn part of her still didn't want to rely on anyone for help, especially someone that so far had not been swayed by her pleas and arguments.

Luke looked at the fire and his meal cooking over it for a moment. Then he sighed and stood up. “Well, I guess it’s time then,” he said.

He put the fire out and reached over to the pallet of blankets that had served to be a bed. His backpack was sitting there. He grabbed it and shrugged it on.

“You mean you’re coming with us?” Rey asked, trying to not sound too hopeful.

Luke sighed. “I came here looking for answers. I didn’t find what I was looking for.” He looked Rey straight in the eyes. “But I do know how I want to leave this life. I might not be remembered as the one that revived the Jedi Order, but at least I will be remembered for doing whatever I could to protect the galaxy.”

* * *

When Rey and Luke arrived back to the _Falcon,_ Chewbacca had everything loaded up and ready to go. They shrugged off their wet outerwear and Rey decided that she would change out of her wet clothes in a moment. The poncho hadn’t provided total cover and her pants were soaked through.

When Rey and Luke arrived back to the _Falcon,_ Chewbacca had everything loaded up and ready to go. They shrugged off their wet outerwear and Rey decided that she would change out of her wet clothes in a moment. The poncho hadn’t provided total cover and her pants were soaked through.

Chewbacca growled. [Glad to see you’ve made the right choice.]

Luke sighed and looked down at the floor. “I’m sorry, Chewie, for leaving. I think I caused more of a mess.”

[I’ll say.]

He cringed.

[If I ever see that cub of Han’s again, I’m ripping his arm off and dragging him back to his mother.]

“Well then.” Luke smiled. “I’d better stay out of your way.”

Rey took the moment to sneak away to change. She was shivering so violently that her legs were starting to hurt. Grabbing a towel from a storage closet, she dried herself off before looking in the bag of clothes that she still hadn’t fully searched through yet. Leia had made sure to get inventory to provide her with clothes for every kind of weather and she removed the clothes that she had ignored, warm jackets and light knits to the side. Those would have been perfect for Starkiller or Jakku, but they had never been appropriate for Ahch-To.

Towards the bottom of the bag, she found an outfit that looked like it would work for the occasion. First, she pulled on a simple pair of trousers and a white undershirt, then she removed a heavier tunic made of a thick, woven material from the bag and slipped that over her. Finally, she found a wrap that looked like her old one from Jakku, just in a light blue shade, and a brown leather belt. She wrapped her old belt around her and placed the lightsaber in the blaster holster. It wasn’t the proper place for a lightsaber, as the holster was originally intended for a small blaster, but it would do for now.

Her hands were still trembling from the cold, which made it too difficult for her to pull her hair back into its typical three buns, so she opted to pull her hair back and pull the sides of her hair into a loose ponytail. It felt weird not to have her hair in her usual style – after all, she’d worn this hairstyle in hope that her parents would recognize her when they return to Jakku for her – but it felt oddly right for the occasion.

Perhaps this was her way of telling herself that it was time to move on and return to the place where she had found a purpose; a family.

In the end, Rey realized that family didn’t have to be blood-related. She would have felt blessed if Leia and Han had been her parents, but Kylo Ren still threw every good thing he had away. Perhaps she would not have liked her own parents, whoever they were. She knew that not all parents were kind. Some families had beaten their offspring on Jakku or thought of them just as another mouth to feed when there wasn’t enough food to go around... Abandonment, like hers, was not uncommon.

More what-ifs. This still wasn’t the time for what-ifs.

When she emerged back in the living area of the Falcon, Luke and Chewbacca stopped their chatter and stared at her.

“What?” she asked, feeling uneasy and self-conscious by their sudden silence.

“Nothing,” said Luke with a smile. “It’s just—"

[You look like a Jedi,] finished Chewbacca.

Rey smiled quietly and with a little blush of embarrassment. She realized that Leia must have put those clothes in the bag for this reason. 

She and Chewbacca sat in the cockpit to take off. She honed the tracking system on the beacon that Leia had provided for them as Chewbacca activated the controls and the console came to life.

The signal was coming from a planet called… Crait? Rey was certainly not the most well-traveled human in the galaxy, but she had also never picked up the name from conversations in Niima. It looked to be about eight hours out. She had no idea how long they had before the First Order got to the Resistance.

She thought about what they were heading towards. She was certain they would at least come into contact with First Order ships on the way there and she wanted to prepare herself mentally. And she also realized that if the First Order was on Crait, there was a good chance that she may run into Kylo Ren again.

At least this time, she was more prepared to fight him. And Luke was with her. 

Rey turned to Chewbacca. “If you see Finn before I do, tell him…” But she couldn’t quite string the words together in a way that would both make sense and convey all she wanted to say.

[I’ll tell him, ‘She’ll come back for you,’] Chewbacca suggested.

She nodded. Actually, that was better than what she could think of at the moment. 

“Yeah, perfect,” she agreed. “Tell him that.”

The _Millennium Falcon_ lifted into the air and left the rocky flat that it had been sitting on for the last couple of days. The old freighter glided mere feet above the water as it gained speed.

Soon, they were gaining altitude and leaving the atmosphere of Ahch-To behind them.

 _Leia, Beebee-ate, Finn..._ Rey thought to herself, imagining her friends, and hoping with all her heart that they could somehow hear her, _feel_ her through the Force. _Just hold on a little longer._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Goodness, the big battle is about to start already? I know I've been working on this fic for nearly six months now, but it honestly doesn't seem that long. By the end of July, this fic will be completed!
> 
> You didn't think I was just going to leave Luke to remain forever a hermit, did you? ;)
> 
> On a more serious note:
> 
> Last week, I got some very nasty comments from a flood of specific shippers in my inbox. I want it to be known that Kylo Ren is a _villain_ in my works of fanfiction, just as he is portrayed in the films and novels, and he is a supporting character in this particular rewrite. If you do not like this, instead of bashing my stuff, just go read in your preferred tags; there's tons of that on this site. Comments are moderated by me, so your comments aren't going to get approved anyway. I take actual critique, not trolling, to heart.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poe plans. The First Order strikes. The _Millennium Falcon_ swoops in.

_Location: Crait_

About a half an hour after the announcement of the First Order’s approach was made, an engineer staggered outside of the escape transport hangar, in his hand was a tracker that had been smashed into a pile of broken metal and electronic components. He said he had found it still attached to a transport, obviously missed in the initial sweep from Finn and Rose’s tip-off.

There was always that one thing that went wrong, and this time that error of judgement might cause a million other things to go wrong.

“I’m just gonna blame this on the Force, then,” Poe murmured because it seemed like it didn’t matter what option had been taken, they still ended up in an inevitable showdown with the First Order, the very thing they were trying so hard to avoid.

Finn was currently discussing possible First Order tactics that they might encounter with the remaining leaders of the Resistance. He told them he wasn’t one-hundred percent sure if the First Order would do any of this stuff, but General Organa and Admiral Ackbar agreed that some possible intel, even if it proven unhelpful later, would be better than none.

“They’ll use walkers, definitely,” Finn seemed confident about that.

“Still using those slow things?” asked Ackbar. 

Finn grinned. “Yeah. I had to train to be a gunner in one. Pretty standard training. I’m not sure what models they would use to handle this kind of terrain.” He looked around their environment. Crait’s salt was very soil-like and compacted in many areas, but he could tell from a distance that some spots looked like soft deposits, which might prove to be difficult for walkers to maneuver on.

“I hope they step into a salt deposit and sink,” General Organa muttered with spite.

* * *

With news that the First Order was on its way, Poe found himself rushing to check through all of the temporary base’s supplies and come up with a quick report of what they could use and what was a waste of time.

During his initial self-tour of the abandoned mine, he found a hangar full of old ski speeders. They were ancient and terribly run-down, but as Poe did a check on the speeders, he found that they had all been equipped with two medium-sized laser cannons and a shield projector. They were definitely old mining equipment, but they had been repurposed for combat.

Just what had they been mining here anyway? Or was this just something that the Rebel Alliance had done years after the mine’s abandonment?

The only problem was that he didn’t know how long the mine had been abandoned. It was likely that the fuel of the speeders had evaporated long ago. When he checked, his fears were nearly confirmed. Half-full fuel tanks. That wouldn’t last them very long on the battlefield.

But maybe in a more environmentally secure place, the mine had stored extra fuel that they could use.

Poe headed back to the makeshift Command Center of the new base to report to Holdo and ask her if she could spare a couple of Maintenance crew to help him locate fuel and get the speeders working again.

He found her listening to brief reports and coming up with quick orders.

Poe took a deep breath. “Vice Admiral?” he started.

She turned to look at him. “Commander?”

He hoped that this time, things would go better between them. Poe still wasn’t sure if he could completely trust her again so quickly, but if they both made the effort to make things right between them, maybe their professional relationship could be saved.

“I found quite a few old speeders in a storage hangar,” he reported. “They’ve been modified for combat, but they're low on fuel.”

Holdo pursed her lips. “How disappointing…” She thought for a moment. "We used all the fuel stores that we had kept here..."

Poe cleared his throat. “With your permission, Vice Admiral, I’d like to take a small team of Maintenance crew with me to explore the base. There might be a place where more fuel had been stored. If we can find it, me and that team can refuel those speeders and our ships.”

She thought for a moment, then grabbed her comm. “Alright, Commander. I’m sending two of our guys with you. Comm me if you find anything and I’ll see if I can spare anyone else to help you.”

He smiled. “Thank you.”

“Poe,” she started, hesitation evident in her expression. “I hope this can be a step in the right direction for us.”

And Poe was now certain that she would do her best to try to make that happen. With a nod, he said, “I hope so, too.”

* * *

Rose had ended up being sent to Poe, along with another crew member, Dev, who knew a thing or two about altered machinery, being a former flight engineering student of the New Republic and all.

“Take a look at these,” Poe told them when he showed them the speeders. They got straight to work and began to inspect the machinery.

“Well, they’re old,” declared Dev, maybe a bit too obviously, “but the weapons they’ve been installed with are still good. I’m seeing a mix of Rebellion-era weaponry and some more current stuff.”

“What were those miners doing, selling spice?” asked Rose. “Kyber? Why would they need this?”

“No idea.” Poe shrugged. “I think the general mentioned that her father had used this as an early Rebellion base. But in any case, I’m glad they’re here.” The Resistance didn’t have enough fuel to spare for the smaller starfighters, so they agreed to only use those if they had no other choice. 

Rose made a quick check of the fuel tanks. “Looks about half full, but that’s better than nothing.” Then she patted the side of one of the speeders with affection. “They remind me of the ore diggers on my home planet. My sister taught me how to fly them.” She went quiet for a moment, as if lost in thought. Poe felt a terrible sense of grief wash over him, thinking back to how he witnessed Paige Tico’s final moments.

Poe looked over to a door on the opposite side of the space. From the look of it, he guessed that it led outside and went over to unlock it and lift the door up. Sure enough, they were looking out to a cliff that dropped down a slope and to a salt field.

To his right, he spotted chutes that were obviously meant for the speeders. That explained how they got down to the fields, but how did they get back up?

Oh, there was a lift at the base of the cliff that was lifted by two cables. He followed the lift’s machinery and cable trail, locating to the wall on his left a red button that begged to be pressed. He took an obvious guess to believe that if he hit that, the lift would rise and fall.

“Can you two help me move the speeders over here?” he requested, waving his hand at the chutes. “I got an idea, but I’m pretty sure we’re going to need to use the speeders when the First Order comes.”

It took a couple of trips, but the three of them managed to get the speeders into position, just as Poe wanted.

“Alright, you two,” he said. “Tell the pilots to gather here if trouble comes knocking, you too Rose, if you think you can fly this thing. Do whatever you can to help anyone else. See if you can locate any fuel spare fuel. We still don’t know when the First Order will show up.”

Rose and Dev nodded simultaneously before running off to be of more assistance elsewhere.

* * *

It was a couple of hours later when the First Order let their presence be known. The first shadowy and ominous figures to appear upon the horizon were exactly what Finn had predicted.

“Walkers,” reported Ackbar as he looked away from a pair of binoculars that were made especially for Calamari. “They’re coming.”

“Shut the door,” Leia ordered, talking about the exterior door to the mine. It was sturdy enough to hold the First Order for a time, but she had no idea how long it would hold or when the First Order would bring in something to bring it down…

Poe ran to the mine to relay her orders, passing by recruits hastily moving and unloading supplies. Many were gearing up with safety equipment and blasters, Finn included.

As he helped a couple of volunteers with the massive door, he spotted a couple of the crystal creatures. When they moved, Poe distinctly heard a sound that sounded like delicate pieces of glass clanking and vibrating together, creating a soft, musical sound. They did not seem like hostile creatures and Poe wondered if they had left their den that they had made somewhere in the mine to see what all the noise was.

Once the door was secure, he ran through the mine and weaved through all the Resistance crew. Outside in the trenches, his boots crunched against loose salt.

The walkers weren’t the only things in view now. The dark wings of a command shuttle could be seen in the distance, escorted by a group of TIEs. The first wave of troops was approaching and the Resistance had a lot working against them.

And then the Resistance opened fired, hoping that their combined efforts would damage the shuttle and starfighters.

He expected the shuttle to veer away from the fire, but the pilot was either just as reckless as Poe could be or incredibly stupid. When he saw a blaster bolt hit the top wing of the shuttle, Poe’s instinct told him to get out of the way and quickly. The shuttle skidded to the ground and slammed into a group of Resistance soldiers.

To his surprise, more blaster fire came from behind him. Poe turned around and saw General Organa firing at the front of the downed shuttle with a rage and furiosity that Poe had never seen in her and hoped that he would never experience being on the receiving end of that anger.

A group of stormtoopers emerged from the downed shuttle, dotting the landscape with sleek white and the battle began, starting with returned blaster fire and trench warfare.

The general cursed. “Not the person I wanted to see. Too bad.” She then turned to Poe. “Shields are up so they can’t hit us from orbit,” she informed him. “It’s not the strongest shield; over thirty years old, but it’ll hold for a while.”

A boom vibrated through the caverns and Poe realized it was time to put his plan into action.

* * *

The ski speeder hangar was populated by only a small number of brave pilots. C’ai, Tallie, Nien Nunb, Rose, and a few more A-wing pilots were there, but to Poe’s surprise, so was Finn.

“You know how to fly a speeder?” he asked.

Finn shrugged. “Sorta? I was trained to fly snow speeders on Starkiller. These look like they have similar controls.”

Poe sighed because he didn’t want to send Finn out when he wasn’t confident in his flight skills, but at the same time the Resistance was desperate for help. He’d have to trust Finn on this one. He knew that Finn at least had good aim and shooting skills on his side.

“Okay everyone, listen up,” he addressed the group. “You gotta pick your targets because the fire linkages are old and they’ll overload if you shoot at everything. Conserve your fire.”

Rose was the one to tell him this, but she had requested him to tell everyone since she was uncomfortable speaking up to a group. He didn’t really know Rose but his first impression of her was that she was very talented in engineering, incredibly brave, and had zero self-confidence. It was a shame really, because Poe knew that she could really shine in the field if she had more faith in herself but he also knew that so many people were afraid of getting up in front of a crowd. He couldn’t fault her for that.

With C-3PO at her side, General Organa entered the hangar with a little smile on her face. Poe could tell it was forced. There was nothing smile-worthy about this situation.

“A long time I ago, I flew one of these speeders on a mission with Red Squadron to fight off Imperial scouts,” she said. “You were right, Poe, they were rigged with better weapons systems for a reason. I’m glad that they can get some more use.” She then cleared her throat. “The ski’s there for stability. It’s not to lift. You go airborne, you’re an easy target.”

Then she looked at Finn. “You were right about the walkers. They’re designed to take out our artillery and ground support. These speeders can’t take them down, so don’t ty. There are also TIEs, which will be the bigger threat.”

General Organa looked upon all the pilots, knowing well that this distraction attempt could easily be a suicide mission. Some of these pilots might not make it back.

“I don’t know who will respond to our message, or when. But we are not alone in this fight. Every minute we can stall increases our chances of victory.”

She took a moment to look at each pilot, some that she had known since they were children. In her heart, Leia knew that the risk that they were about to take could easily mean that she would never see them alive again.

“May the Force be with you all.”

Dismissed, the pilots took to gearing up, putting on headsets and helmets, doing a comm check, and putting on gloves. The sound of the speeders humming to life filled the hangar.

Finn looked over the controls one more time and found that the ski speeder was similar to the snow speeders that he had been taught to fly. 

He was ready for this.

“Launching,” Poe announced. “Follow my lead.”

Sliding his speeder forward into the chute of the hangar, Poe made a motion with his hand to cue the rest to follow him. Finn glanced at Rose one more time and saw that she was clutching the pendant around her neck, eyes shut tightly with concentration as if she were in prayer. When Finn entered the chute, there was only darkness around him and the echoes of the speeder engine humming in low vibrations off the chute’s metal walls.

A slot opened in the shield door and he found himself looking over the white salt landscape of Crait. The speeder slid through the air, almost at a glide, and Finn tried to keep himself stable while he worried about crashing into a salt deposit. With an upward pull on the controls, he managed to stick his landing with minimal turbulence. He watched as Rose made touchdown on the ground and her speeder began to kick up the white salt behind her, leaving a train of red dust in their wake.

Poe’s speeder lost a panel towards the hull and for a moment, Finn felt his breath leave him. He waited to see if it would fall apart at the impact of the landing.

“I’m fine,” said Poe. “It was just a panel under my foot. As long as the rest of it stays intact, I’ll be okay.”

With a relieved sigh Finn looked ahead towards the horizon. He could see the walkers in the distance.

“Save your fire,” Poe reminded them over the static of the comms. “Like the general said, it won’t do any good.”

Streaks of blaster bolts could be seen flying across the white plains towards the First Order. Finn watched as a few looked to have made contact, but no damage could be seen. But he was looking for something else, something that was a bigger threat than the walkers. He knew the First Order’s tactics well enough to know what usually came with along with them.

And that was when he saw exactly what he was looking for.

“TIEs!” he warned.

Above them, the TIE fighters circled and swooped down towards the group of speeders. The weapons on the speeders could take out a TIE but they would have to make just the right shot from the right angle because the speeders could not gain altitude. 

A lot more luck was needed to keep this distraction going.

* * *

Overhead, Kylo Ren and General Hux watched the battle from onboard the command shuttle. The First Order found the Resistance’s attempt to hold off their forces laughable, if maybe even a little commendable. Many worlds with bigger defense forces had put up less of fight before surrendering.

Hux could tell by Kylo Ren’s tense statue that he would rather be down on the ground fighting, but for whatever reason, he had opted to stay on the shuttle. He no longer wore the mask that once concealed is face from all and Hux couldn’t help but wonder why. Ren’s emotions betrayed him and his human appearance no longer held the same amount of terror that he created by hiding that humanity. A quick glance at his scarred face told Hux that he was looking for something.

Or someone.

“Incoming light craft,” reported Captain Canady.

“Push through,” ordered Ren. “The Resistance is in that mine. This will be their end.”

* * *

The TIES had obviously been given orders to engage with the speeders, as they had broken their previous position to hold their lines. Red blaster bolts whizzed past, hitting the ground and sending up puffs of red dust that reminded Poe too much of blood and what could happen to any of them if they made a wrong move or were unfortunate enough to get caught up in the line of fire.

“Break off,” he yelled.

As they scattered, the TIEs gave chase and the speeders had to rely on their maneuverability for survival. Poe found it was too difficult to try to shoot down the TIE pursing him when he was trying to dodge its fire.

And then he had an idea that was crazy and could get him killed, but it would be worth it if it worked. He yanked on the control yoke, causing the speeder to bounce a little on the plain. He kept it up, until it bounced just high enough that he was level with the TIE.

He took his chance and shot it down.

To his left, one of the A-wing pilots was shot down and he screamed into his comm as his speeder was ripped apart by impact. 

And then he heard Finn shout into his comms, “Rose, behind you!”

Poe turned his head and saw that three TIEs were pursuing Rose’s speeder. He and Finn tried to swiftly approach her to help, but before they got there, the first TIE had been shot down. 

Then the second one exploded. Then the third.

Confused, Finn looked over his should and saw a glorious sight to behold. 

The _Millennium Falcon._

He whooped with excitement and then was filled with a sense of dread sitting at the pit of his stomach. If Rey was here, that meant that she had gotten his message. It also meant that she ignored his request. Was Skywalker with her?

She had come back for them, at the very least, and right now Finn was thankful for that. But he also worried about what could happen, especially once they landed. The Resistance was outnumbered to an extreme.

Onboard the _Falcon,_ Chewbacca roared a battle cry and his little porg friend tried to copy it.

Rey, meanwhile, was sitting in the lower turret and fired at more TIEs in her range. She grinned as she hit yet another, smug because she knew that the TIEs had been too distracted by the speeders to notice the Corellian freighter up in the air. 

“Oh, I like this!”

But Luke was not paying attention to the battle scene. Instead, he was looking to the ground, trying to locate his sister and the rest of the Resistance. He was afraid that he had been too late, that Leia had not been lucky enough to survive this long and that he was unable to feel her in the Force not because he had cut himself off for so long but because she was no longer living. 

Chewbacca positioned the _Falcon_ just at the right angle for Rey to make a perfect shot. She allowed the Force to guide her and took out another TIE in front of her.

“Chewie!” she shouted. “Try to draw them away from the speeders!” She thought that she could feel a presence that reminded her so much of Finn, but she could not be sure if that was her imagination or not. It might be that she was so hopeful to get a glance of him to assure herself that he was okay, that her mind was making her feel what she wanted to feel.

As Chewbacca started flying away from the plain with the TIEs taking the bait, Luke spotted a couple of peculiar creatures on the ground. He was amazed that all the sounds and smells of the battle had not driven them into hiding. With his eyes, he followed them, wondering if they we headed to a place of safety.

When Chewbacca and Rey had finished picking off the rest of the TIE fighters, Luke pointed to a ridge with a flattened top, perfect for landing.

“Land there,” he said. “We’ll need to look for the Resistance on foot.”

* * *

Back on the plain, the Resistance pilots in the speeders watched on as the _Millennium Falcon_ disappeared from sight, drawing the TIE fighters after it and away from them.

“She drew the off.” Poe was in awe. “All of them.”

Finn grinned widely, his delight could not be contained. “Oh, they hate that ship!”

Then, a thought occurred to him and he looked down at his arm, where the beacon was still tied around his wrist. In all the chaos, he had almost forgotten it was there. But that also meant that Rey could accidently follow the signal back to the plain. She didn’t know where the beacon was or who it was with, after all.

“Poe,” he said urgently. “I gotta get back to the hangar. Rey might come back here. I still have the beacon.”

“Alright,” agreed Poe. “Everyone, let’s head back. Doesn't look like we can do much out here anyway.”

They rushed back to the hangar in haste. The lift was waiting for them, but only one speeder could only go up at a time. Finn was anxious, but at least he was allowed to use the lift first. Upon sliding onto the hangar floor, he parked his speeder and practically leaped out. He waited for Poe and Rose to arrive and park, which took several minutes of precious time.

Then, once his friends were securely in the hangar, he made a run for it.

“Is there another way out of the mine?” he asked as he made his way through the hangar, Poe and Rose behind him. “That’s the only way we can let them in.”

BB-8, who had been waiting for them to return, beeped and Poe translated. 

“Beebee-ate says that he’s analyzed the entire mine. The door is the only way in or out.” 

Everyone looked a little grim at that prospect and then Poe had a thought.

“Wait, where are those crystal critters?” 

They looked around the tunnels until they came across one pacing through. They followed it slowly, trying not to scare it off and watched as it squeezed through a group of boulders and didn’t emerge again. Rose ran up to the boulders and stuck her hand in a gap.

“I can feel cold air,” she announced, tugging at the closest boulder near her. “This might be a way out.”

Finn hurried over and started to try to move to boulders with her. They didn’t budge. Watching them struggle, Poe ran back to get help and returned with a team of ten able-bodied volunteers.

But even with a team of strong Resistance members pushing and pulling, the boulders were too heavy to budge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are so many characters at this point that it would be impossible to show where all of them are during the battle, hence I will only be focusing on the heroes for this particular part with some interjection from the villains. The next couple of chapters will be filled with a lot of action. 
> 
> Next week: long-awaited reunions and a risky gambit.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Long-awaited reunions. A risky gambit. Sudden separation.

Rey and Chewbacca tried to find the beacon’s signal on the _Falcon’s_ console, but it was making too much movement and they couldn’t quite pinpoint a coordinate. She and R2 took a guess and decided that someone must be holding on to it and at the moment be running around while doing tasks for the Resistance. She wasn’t angry; considering the situation she didn’t know what else to expect.

They waited for a couple of minutes, trying different radar scans to see if they could pick up any signs of a large group of beings together. The scans picked up nothing.

Luke was the one to suggest that the issue could indicate that they were hiding underground. 

Then, finally, the signal became steady and it indicated that the Resistance was close by.

Looking out the windows of the _Falcon,_ Rey strained to find any sign of them or an entry underground. Then she noticed a group of crystal foxes squeezing through a mound of boulders hidden beyond a crevice and running off on the mountainside. The crevasse hid the area well and Rey almost couldn’t see the boulders with how little of a view she could get.

“There!” she cried.

She and Luke lowered the _Falcon’s_ ramp and slid down it as it met the ground. Luke’s landing was not graceful and he fumbled a bit, not being as young as he used to be, he had said with a laugh. They started to approach the boulders when a blaster bolt narrowly missed them and hit rocky terrain. 

Behind them, a group of stormtroopers emerged, their blasters drawn and ready to fire on them. They had to get them away from the crevasse or risk leading them right to the Resistance. She wished she could use the mind suggestion technique that she used back on Starkiller to make them go away, but she doubted that she and Luke could do it on so many troopers at once.

Rey reached for the lightsaber clipped to her belt, but Luke held up his hand and shook his head.

“You go ahead,” he ordered. “I’ll take care of this here.”

“Are you sure?” she asked. Luke had been out of practice for so many years that she was worried to leave him to fight – she quickly counted six – stormtroopers at once.

“I’m sure.” He smiled. “Go find your friends.”

Luke stared the stormtroopers down as Rey ran off behind him. They seemed confused by his behavior. Some were even aiming for Rey’s disappearing figure, not sure if they should try to go after her or not.

He reached for his lightsaber, back at his side after years of disuse. It hadn’t sat clipped to his belt until Rey came to get him in his hut. Discreetly, he had grabbed it off of the shelf where it had been left to collect dust and then had gotten it situated.

When the green glow of the saber ignited, the stormtroopers startled and backed away. Some of them gasped. One even dropped his weapon.

Luke Skywalker, legend in the flesh, was standing right in front of them and ready for battle.

* * *

Rey slid down the rocky sides of the crevasse and approached the spot that she thought could lead her to the Resistance. There were areas that made her stumble and trip and she tried to follow the foxes, hoping that they knew a safer path down to the boulders.

When she managed to get her footing and make it to the pile she found that the boulders were too tightly pushed together for her to budge. She sighed in frustration and backed up, turning around in thought while she tried to figure out another way in.

A thought occurred to her: 

Could use the Force to lift the boulders? She thought back to the boulder in the temple and it worried her that she wouldn’t be able to lift these either, even if they didn’t look as heavy as the one back on Ahch-To.

She would try to imagine that the boulders were just small rocks that were preventing her from reuniting with her friends. Small rocks she could lift and she hoped that somehow she could trick her mind into thinking the same thing.

“Lifting rocks.” She smiled quietly.

On the other side of the pile, the Resistance was still trying to find a way to budge the boulders away. Someone had even suggested trying to use a landcraft to create a makeshift levy to help remove them. Finn and Poe were both worried about this. Luke Skywalker, Rey, Chewbacca, and R2-D2 were out there looking for them. If they didn’t hurry, the First Order might find them before the Resistance could.

When the rocks began to shift, they were surprised and moved out of the way, afraid that they were about to cause a cave-in.

Daylight began to emerge and Finn watched in amazement as each boulder slowly lifted into the air, looking weightless. After a few moments a clearing was made and the Resistance soldiers in the tunnel rushed outside to freedom.

And to Finn, what he found outside was even greater.

Rey stood at the center of the crevasse, the boulders floating all around her like she was a sun and they were drawn into her orbit. She looked to be a thing of legend and of great mystical power. The Resistance watched her in amazement, awed by the power of the Force and the one who utilized it to give them a way out.

But Finn only saw Rey, the Rey he met on Jakku days before, who had joined him on an adventure, the Rey he wanted to bring back from the First Order and the one he feared he had lost on Starkiller. He ran to her, calling her name.

She smiled softly when she saw him and moved to meet him. The boulders fell to the ground around them as they embraced. Rey clutched to him tightly, a couple of tears dripping down the slope of her cheek, and Finn held onto her with the same amount of relief, wishing that he never had to let her go again.

“You came back,” he breathed.

“Of course I did,” she replied. “I’m returning the favor.”

Rose and Poe watched the tender moment between their friend and the Jedi girl, whom they had never met but had heard so much about. 

“He guided her home,” Poe said, a little wistfully.

Rose rolled her eyes. “That’s a little sappy.”

“Maybe,” he hummed. “But it feels right for them.” Poe had admitted to himself when he watched Finn bravely hop into the speeder that he had fallen a little in love with him over the past couple of days, but he understood that while Finn might be his friend, he might not have the same feelings for Poe. And really, as Poe had coached himself, Finn needed to choose what was right for him and when he did, Poe would make sure that he would support that choice.

Poe wanted Finn to be happy and he knew that Finn would say the same about him and all of the friends he had made in the Resistance already.

But he sensed that Rose might not have the same attitude. He watched her eyes as she watched the scene; she was frowning, her bottom lip bitten, and her eyes told him that she might have felt a little hurt. Yet that made Poe wonder. She and Finn had only known each other for a day and Rose had gone through so much in just two… Was she feeling the same as Poe… or something else?

The volunteers waited a few more moments before approaching Finn and Rey. Poe felt a little bad that his appearance broke up the pair, but they really needed to get going. At the same time, he was excited that he finally was able to meet Rey. She was the hero of the hour, after all.

“Hi,” he said, with a big grin on his face.

“Hi,” Rey replied.

“I’m Poe.” He held out his hand to greet her and Rey took it with a soft smile. Finn watched on, his joy uncontained because now his best friends were finally getting to meet each other.

“Rey.”

“I know.”

The two of them didn't speak again, instead using the moment to grin widely at one another. Rey was also excited to finally meet Poe. Finn and BB-8 had told her so much about him and the night that the droid stayed with her on Jakku, he had told her wild tales about his adventures with the Resistance pilot. She then broke her gaze away from him and looked around, half-expecting to find the orange and white BB unit at her heels and waiting to get his own reunion with her. Instead she breathed a little sigh of disappointment to find that BB-8 was not there. He must be back to wherever that tunnel led to, she guessed, and they would find each other again later.

Rose cleared her throat and mirrored Poe. 

“I’m Rose,” she said. “Finn and I went on a mission together earlier.”

Rey looked a little intrigued. “Really?” She looked over at Finn, who nodded in confirmation. “I’d like to hear about that when there’s time.”

Rose now felt a little guilty that she had spoken poorly of Rey in front of Finn. Rey seemed _nice;_ not at all like the high and mighty Jedi with an air of superiority that she expected Rey to emit. No wonder Finn liked her. Rose thought that she could like her too, if they gave each other a chance.

But someone interrupted her thoughts.

“Is my brother with you?”

General Organa appeared out of the tunnel, looking around the area and frowning when she saw no sign of Luke. She was happy to see Rey, but if Rey was here without him, did that mean that she couldn’t find him? 

Or did he simply not want to come back?

“He’s up ahead,” Rey suddenly said urgently, snapping out of the bliss that her reunion with Finn had caused. “He’s fighting off stormtroopers.”

“Let’s help him then,” said Finn, hoisting up his blaster into his arms from where it rested strapped to his side.

The rest of the Resistance prepared their weapons and gasped in awe as Rey ignited her blue lightsaber. Her face went a little pink, obviously flustered by the amount of attention everyone was giving her. She cleared her throat.

“This way,” she said.

* * *

The green glow down on the battlefield grabbed the attention of both General Hux and Kylo Ren up in the command shuttle. When Hux looked down to get a closer look, he saw a lone figure fighting off stormtroopers and wondered if the man was spectacularly stupid to try to fight off a group of his troops at once.

But once he realized that the man was holding a lightsaber and Ren was practically growling next to him, he knew who he was looking at.

“Stop,” said Ren.

“We’re on enemy territory, sir,” reported Captain Peavy, as if Kylo Ren would be unaware of that detail. “It would be too-“

“I don’t care. Land.”

No one was dumb enough to fuel Kylo Ren’s anger further, not when he was practically blazing in anger, and so the crew made a search for a landing space away from the crowd of stormtroopers.

Good, thought Hux. Make the mighty Kylo Ren walk to face his former master.

* * *

The Resistance soldiers ran up the mouth of the crevasse and towards the rocky salt plain where Luke Skywalker was fighting off the stormtroopers with ease. Rey led the charge with Finn and Poe right behind her.

Leia had realized pretty quickly that her dress and coat was impractical and cursed her fashion choice for the moment. But she still felt the need to sink her teeth into a few First Order guys, so to speak.

She climbed up the side of the crevasse and walked over to a cliff overlooking the action. It was a steep slope, and she was not as young as she used to be. The climb left her winded for a moment. From her position, she could get a decent shot in as long as she made sure that her brother and none of the Resistance got in the way.

With a well-aimed eye and a light squeeze on her trigger, Leia sent a blaster bolt flying into a stormtrooper that was currently trying to apprehend her brother.

Luke had, by all accounts, been finding that the stormtroopers were a little better trained than the ones he had encountered during the days of the Empire; – he had to give whoever was in charge of creating the training regime credit – they had better aim and some of them tried to take him on with bodyweight-based attacks. They didn’t faze him, even as out of practice as he was, but at least they kept him a little on his toes.

A stormtrooper falling down from a blaster bolt to his chest made Luke turn around and assess the situation quickly but he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw a group of Resistance soldiers led by Rey and a familiar figuring standing off in the distance atop a cliff.

Leia always did have the best aim out of all his friends and family. He smiled a little because now, he could fight beside her once again. It was where he belonged.

He was also impressed by Rey and the dark skinned young man wearing an old pilot’s jacket. It was obvious that Rey had little training with the lightsaber by the way she twirled it around and struck at troopers like she would have with her quarterstaff, but the young man had very accurate aim with a blaster. They moved almost in sync with each other and Luke watched from the corner of his eye as the two of them had each other’s back. If a 'trooper came too close to Rey, the man would shoot the enemy down. If a trooper came too close to the young man, Rey would strike the enemy from behind.

They were, Luke mused to himself, a perfect team. 

Luke briefly wondered if this was _Finn,_ the young man that Rey had left behind and the only person she had talked about with total fondness lacing her voice. He knew from her stories that her eagerness to get back to the Resistance had more to do with getting back to Finn than it did the First Order.

He quickly took another stormtrooper out as he watched another event take place in the distance. That command shuttle that he had seen while on the _Falcon_ had landed, but it was too far away for him to see anything or anyone. He did have a hunch, however, about who was onboard, and it was a bad one.

When the last grounded stormtrooper had been dispatched, Leia skidded down the rocky slope and made her way to her brother. Rey and her friend looked like they were coming down from an adrenaline rush and were all smiles with each other. Their mouths were moving at a rapid pace with wide grins that told Luke that they were gushing praise and too wrapped up among themselves to notice another reunion take place.

Leia looked at him almost as if she had seen a ghost. Perhaps, at first glance at him fighting on this salty battlefield, she had thought she really had.

“Luke,” she said, her voice was mixed with relief and a touch of sadness, but also, dare he hope, tenderness?

He approached her and met her halfway, a small smile on his face that showed both guilt from his abandonment and joy of seeing his sister again.

“I know what you’re going to say,” she stopped him. “I changed my hair.”

Luke chuckled. “It looks nice.” And then he made a long, remorseful sigh. “Leia, I’m sorry.”

“I’m just glad you’re here now.” In another situation and time, Leia would have made a different, snarkier comment, but with the chance of death in her face, she could not bring herself to say anything else. 

In the distance, the dark figure of Kylo Ren approached the group, shoulders heaving in anger and lightsaber ignited in an angry red glow. He stomped his was across the battlefield, seemingly almost more beast than human. Rey had noticed him first, and pushed her friends behind her, ready to fight him if she needed to.

Luke turned back to his sister. “I came to face him, Leia,” he began, “but I can’t save him.”

And to his surprise, she nodded in quiet understanding before staring at the monstrous figure that was fast approaching. “I know,” she told him. “I held out hope for so long, but I know my son is gone.”

They embraced quickly and Luke whispered in her ear, “Take the Resistance back into the tunnel.”

“You’re going to face him alone?” Leia looked mortified.

“I stayed out of this fight too long,” he told her. “I need to make up for my mistakes.”

She hesitated, but the look that her brother gave her told her that this was something he _needed_ to do alone, and so she relented. Leia called out to her soldiers and most of them responded to her, but Rey and her friend remained to stare down the shadowy visage of Kylo Ren. 

“Rey,” said Luke, placing his hand gently on her shoulder. “You two go with Leia. This is my fight.”

But the young man was the one to protest. “We can’t leave you alone with him,” he began. “He’s-"

“You must be Finn.” Luke smiled. “Rey’s told me all about you. All good things. But I’ll be fine. Please go back.”

Rey tugged at Finn’s hand and led him away. She looked back at Luke one more time before entering the tunnel with Leia close behind her.

The man that was once his nephew had become exactly what Luke had feared and once foreseen. The Force blazed around him like a fiery rage that matched the anger on his face. Last he had heard, Luke had sworn he had taken up a helmet like his grandfather before him, but it seemed that he had abandoned that pretense. 

And yet, while Darth Vader raged with anger, his anger had always been controlled and sometimes even quiet. That was what made him so terrifying. In his grandson, this anger was overwhelming and uncontrolled like it was threatening to overfill him and consume him. Luke hated to see what his nephew had become, and it saddened him to think that he hadn’t been able to help him.

Kylo Ren lifted his lightsaber and pointed the unstable plasma blade in the direction of the tunnel. 

“When I’m done with you, she’s next. They’re _both_ next.” Luke wasn't quite certain that he knew who exactly his nephew was referring to, but he wagered a guess with himself that Ren was talking about his mother, thinking to what he did to his father.

Luke left his lightsaber off for the time being. The lack of its presence shocked Ren and made him uneasy. Kylo Ren may have been trained by both a Jedi and an extremely dangerous Force-user, but Luke still had years of experience on him. 

He also had the advantage of knowing his nephew’s anger and how it affected him. Ben Solo was dangerous when angry, but this also made him as unstable as the weapon that he held in his hand. It made him both unpredictable and sloppy in technique.

That anger, Luke thought to himself, unbridled and even unprovoked, might one day be his downfall.

* * *

At the entrance of the tunnel, Rey stood watch, hoping that Luke would reappear. Finn stayed beside her, not wanting to be separated from her for the time being, and decided that if she had to face Kylo Ren again to protect the Resistance, he would stay right beside her then as well. 

“I wish we could help him,” he told her quietly, almost in a whisper.

But she only shook her head with a sad smile. “I think…” she began. “I think this is his fight right now.”

Finn took her hand – and she didn’t protest like she had the first time they met – and gave it a gentle squeeze. He looked up at the sky and mused over what Star Destroyers would be just beyond atmo, naming off some of the more famous ones of the First Order and the ones that he had been trained on.

The _Supremacy_ was up there and it was well known that the mega-class was where the Supreme Leader himself operated from, when he wasn’t off on some planet in wild space, that is. There were rumors about where Snoke was from and what he got up to, but Finn could never differentiate the facts from the rumors. Snoke was simply a mysterious figure, even to those who served him directly.

“Rey, I just thought of something.”

She looked at him right in the eyes and encouraged him to continue.

“There’s a mega-class Star Destroyer out there.”

“Oh, yes! We passed it on our way here.” Rey had a look of recognition on her face.

“Well, on that Star Destroyer, Snoke is onboard. At least, he should be.”

Rey seemed to catch on to what he was saying pretty quickly. “You don’t think-?”

“Maybe. Do you think Skywalker can fight him?”

She grimaced. “Not without help at the moment.” She could tell that Luke was out of practice and she wasn’t sure how quickly he would regain his grasp on the Force. The Luke Skywalker of the present was not as nearly as strong as the Luke Skywalker five years ago, to be sure.

“I don’t think killing Snoke would stop the First Order all at once,” Finn confessed, “but without him, they might be severely crippled in power.”

“What does Snoke do?” Rey asked. “As... whatever it is that he’s called?”

“Supreme Leader?” He shrugged. “To be honest, no one really seems to know. There are rumors, but all I know for sure is that he is a strong Force-user and that he recruited the Knights of Ren. They do most of his dirty work.” Finn shuddered at the thought.

The Knights of Ren. Another hurdle to defeat the First Order. Rey had witnessed their powers only in dreams; dreams that she was sure, at this point, that Kylo Ren had purposely shown her somehow. She wanted to get to the bottom of that as well.

“To be honest,” Finn continued, “most of the cadets thought the title was something that Hux gave him to keep him from turning on the First Order. He wants power, but he was never really involved with the First Order’s strategy. He’s just… kinda there.”

Rey wrinkled her nose. “Strange,” she muttered. She turned back to the battlefield and watched as uncle and nephew reunited in an exchange of anger and regret while she thought about this new piece of information.

* * *

Kylo Ren and Luke Skywalker silently observed each other on the salt field. Luke could tell that his nephew was waiting for him to make a move, unsure if he was being tricked or being led into a trap.

“I failed you, Ben,” Luke called out. “I’m sorry.”

Glaring, Kylo Ren spat, “I’m sure you are. The Resistance is dead. The war is over. And when I kill you, I’ll have killed the last Jedi.”

That almost made Luke laugh. “Amazing,” he said. “Every word of what you just said was wrong. The Rebellion is reborn today. The war is just beginning.”

He thought of his sister, of Rey and her friends, of the young man that seemed devoted to her and the cause, of the Resistance soldiers that ran to aid him so bravely. Luke knew that even if the Resistance crumbled away on this world that the survivors would keep fighting.

Luke was here to give them that fighting chance.

“And I will not be the last Jedi.”

His nephew snarled and raised his lightsaber, poised to attack. 

“You could have been great, Ben,” he told him, knowing that would only fuel his anger. “But you made your choice. I hope it was the right one for you.” He knew he was taunting him, but Luke still wanted Kylo Ren to hear what he had to say. He kept his face calm, though his heart finally felt a little bit lighter. “Strike me down in anger and I’ll always be with you. Just like your father.”

With a scream, Ren lunged at his former master. He aimed and struck with precision with every intent for his lightsaber to come down on Luke’s head, but Luke simply moved his body away with a fluid and calm movement and the angry red lightsaber cut through thin air.

Ren stood wide-eyed at the spot that Luke had been previously in, sure that his strike had been true. He lunged again, this time with a stab at his uncle’s abdomen, only for Luke to calmly sidestep the attack.

Luke tutted. “Still throwing in all your anger into your attacks, huh Ben?” He shook his head. “I thought I taught you better than that. You never learned.”

“Fight me!” Ren growled.

They continued the motion of attack and evade, neither one of them letting up in their strategy.

* * *

Leia, Rey, Finn, Poe, and Rose all squeezed their heads out of the tunnel to watch the scene. Luke and Kylo Ren had slowly moved closer to the tunnel, and the Resistance could easily watch their game of chasing and evading.

“He doesn’t want to kill him,” Rey breathed under her breath with sudden realization. A cramp of dread filled her stomach and the thought of what might happen made her feel dizzy.

“What?” asked Poe in disbelief. “Seriously?”

Rose looked worried. “So what is he planning?”

They all looked to Leia.

She shrugged. “I have no idea.”

Rey’s heart raced. Unless Luke had some trick up his sleeve, he was likely going to get himself killed. Ren might tire himself out soon, but she knew that still wouldn’t stop his pursuit to kill the last person that was a real threat to him.

And she understood now why he tried so hard to appeal to her in her dreams, to scare her, to threaten her. If Luke trained her, he would no longer be the last Jedi and Rey would become a formidable foe. She had fought him off last time they met in person, with him angry and injured. The next time they met, a trained Rey could easily be a match to him at full strength. 

If she could humor him, provide a distraction, she might be able to stop him at least for a short time.

“You’re not going to like what I’m about to do,” she told Finn as she finally released his hand, “but you have to trust me.”

“I trust- Hey! Rey! Come back!”

“What is she doing?”

“Finn, you told me that she was _smart!”_

Rey exited the tunnel at a full sprint, knowing if she had given them – especially Finn – a heads up on what she was planning that they would have tried to stop her. Her head knew that her plan was probably really stupid but if it worked, she could be a distraction to Kylo Ren. She could spare Luke.

The men both looked surprised by her appearance but Ren only gripped his lightsaber tighter, ready to strike at her if he needed to.

“Come to watch your master die?” he asked.

“No,” she said calmly. “He’s not my master.”

Ren arched an eyebrow. 

“No,” Rey repeated again, rethinking how she should phrase her next sentence and thought back to that night in the forest when Ren offered her his tutelage. “He taught me nothing. He’s… he can’t teach me. I know that now.”

“Rey,” said Luke, “go back-“

She ignored him. “I was wondering if your offer to train me still stands?”

A pause, an inquisitive glance at her face, and then a smug smile. “So you finally understand what the dark side can offer you.”

“Yes.”

Turning off his lightsaber and with a gentle movement, Ren held his hand out in offering. He was silent as he waited for Rey’s final decision.

Wanting to know that this would spare Luke and the others for the time being, she clarified, “Only on the condition that you leave him alone.” She thought of how to word her sentences to make herself all the more convincing. “I don’t want to see him die yet. I want to make him suffer more.” She hated saying that, but she knew she had to play a game and put up a façade to convince him that she wasn’t tricking him.

He seemed to be falling for it because he thought her offer over. “I like that idea, actually. Yes, I will agree to your terms. We’ll return and we’ll kill him together.” He held his gloved hand out again.

This time she took it, even though it pained her to do so. A small part of her felt like she had betrayed herself by taking the hand of the man that harmed her and her friends, even if the gesture was one of deception.

“Rey, no.”

When they walked away from the crevasse, Rey had to use all her willpower to not look back on Luke and everyone else that she was leaving behind. She didn’t want to see the hurt that she knew was on their faces.

* * *

Skywalker returned to the Resistance at the mouth of the tunnel, a look of regret and pain etched upon his face. And he was without Rey at his side. 

“Rey is…” He couldn’t say anything more.

“Rey’s going after Snoke.” 

It was Finn that spoke up, confidence in his voice. He looked sure in his position and Luke wondered if Rey had told him something before she left. He thought it was odd that she would willingly leave him so soon after they were reunited.

“Snoke?” Leia looked worried.

“I told her that he stays on the _Supremacy,_ which is just outside atmo,” he explained. “We were talking about getting a group together to intercept the Star Destroyer, but I think Rey has decided to go it alone.”

Finn noticed that Skywalker was looking down at his mecha hand, lost in thought. Then he clenched it. “One of my own masters warned me not to go against Vader before I was ready,” he said. “I ignored him and that’s how I got this. Rey is a student after my own heart, I suppose.” He smiled sadly.

Finn momentarily panicked over the thought of Rey losing a limb to Kylo Ren. He imagined her bleeding to death out on the main deck of the _Supremacy,_ laid out for the entire First Order to see. He gulped.

“But Rey is not only going to be facing Snoke,” Leia pointed out. “Kylo Ren is there too.”

“And that’s what worries me.”

“Rey told me to trust her before she left,” said Finn. “I do and I want her to get off the _Supremacy_ alive.”

Poe quirked an eyebrow. “It sounds like you might have an idea, Finn.”

“Not a great plan, but it does seem to be a specialty of mine. Let’s get Rey off that place and blow it up.”

“I can see why Han liked you so much, Finn,” Leia teased, trying to keep her mood optimistic when the possible outcomes of this particular idea looked very grim. “So how do we get you onboard.”

Finn took a moment to think, and then an idea popped into his head. He looked over at Rose. “That transport that we stole on Takodana has more than enough fuel for the trip and Rose installed her power baffler on it earlier.” He looked her in the eyes. “I don’t expect you to go with me, but it would be a big help.”

By her expression, Finn could tell that she was not into the idea but was entertaining it anyway. “You could get us onboard safely?”

He laughed. “I was a cadet there once; I know all the ways to get onboard that no one pays much attention to. We might not even have to fight anyone on the way out if we do it right.”

Finn knew she wanted to turn him away; in fact, he knew that if they were in this situation just a day or two before, she would have. Yet there was something in her dark eyes that told him she was having a change of heart as she mulled his request over.

Then she nodded in agreement and with relief and gratitude, Finn grabbed her hands in between his and whispered, “Thank you,” with genuine gratefulness, looking at Rose like he had just been given all the hope that remained in the galaxy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew, that was a long one! It took fourteen chapters, but finally Finn and Rey and Luke and Leia have reunited.
> 
> Back before TLJ's release, I was convinced that Rey was going to trick Ren into thinking she would join him, because wouldn't that be so cool and right for her character? But noooo- I can't have nice things. 
> 
> Poor Finn is probably internally like, "We just got back together again, Rey, and now you're leaving again? Dammit, come back!" by the end of this chapter.
> 
> Next week:
> 
> A lot of action on the _Supremacy._


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finn and Rose go undercover. Light is discovered. Snoke reveals a revelation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, as a reminder to those that don't like my preferred pairings, relationship dynamics, or thematic interpretations: there is plenty of stuff on this site more to your tastes. I suggest you move on.

_Location: The_ Supremacy

To their surprise, Finn, Rose, and a stowaway BB-8 managed to maneuver the luxury yacht and dock at one the usually abandoned air locks of the mega-class Star Destroyer that Finn had pointed out without detection. That was going to be their first big hurdle and if they weren’t careful, it would be the _only_ hurdle that they would get to.

“These things are amazing!” Finn gushed over the power baffler, which he was certain had played a part in their success.

BB-8 wobbled excitedly and beeped in agreement. The little droid had somehow loaded himself up into the transport, hiding in a storage closet until they had taken off. He hadn’t told Poe where he was going, but he wanted to help Finn, Rose, and Rey, if he could. Maybe he could put his astromech skills to good use… and maybe cause a little trouble while he was at it. BB-8 seemed to hell bent on doing some damage to the First Order.

He became useful sooner, rather than later, when breaking into the door’s airlock for them. It took little effort, to be honest. BB-8 had definitely broken into more difficult doors before on behalf of Poe.

The trio entered what appeared to be the laundry room of the _Supremacy,_ judging by the amount droids cleaning, scrubbing, washing, and pressing uniforms. Finn had never been inside the laundry room before, but he half-expected to see a stormtrooper cadet or two on duty. He was surprised, however, when he found it was only droids down here and the droids made no movement to indicate that they had noticed the intruders. 

He spotted a pile of neatly pressed uniforms, recently cleaned and saw an additional rack of boots, belts, gloves and caps that he knew would match.

“Quick, lets-" Finn went about quickly picking through the pile, trying to find a uniform that would fit him.

When Rose caught on to his plan, she joined him in going through the pile. “Good idea,” she commented while she sorted through the laundry tags on each uniform to try to find something similar to her measurements.

They quickly dressed in their new undercover uniforms, tossing their Resistance clothes back into the yacht. After making sure that the other was looking passible by adjusting clothes, moving caps, and tidying up hair, Finn went over what they were dressed as, inspecting each outfit to make sure they fit the part and left no detail sticking out like a sore thumb. If a single badge or lace was misplaced, missing, or simply not correct, it would be a dead giveaway that they were not the people that they were posing to be.

“Okay, so the navy uniforms like I’m wearing are for officers. You’re… a major.”

“Cool!” Then Rose blushed, realizing that she was talking about pretending to be a First Order major and not an actual one for the Resistance. Still, if she could pull it off, it was pretty cool. Not many other Resistance volunteers would be able to say that they posed as a major for the enemy.

“So, when we’re out, try to blend in. Look like we have somewhere to be and don’t look around like you’re checking out the place.” Then he remembered something important to add. “Oh, look out for the guys in white.”

“Stormtroopers?”

“No, white tunics,” he corrected. “Security Bureau. Loyalty officers. Everyone else will look at your rank insignia. They’ll be looking at your face. If you don’t act suspicious, they won’t even think to investigate you. Luckily the _Supremacy_ is huge,” Finn added.

“What about these?” Rose pointed to the silver capsules on Finn’s tunic. They looked important and she thought they might hold information and codes to help them get through the star destroyer.

“They don’t work,” Finn explained. “Code cylinders are reset when they go to laundry on accident. It’s to… well, it’s to make sure intruders like us won’t get away with what we’re trying to do. Someone must have forgotten about them before they sent their uniform in.”

Since the laundry room was in the lower levels of the _Supremacy,_ they had quite a walk to take before they would probably run into anyone. In this time, Finn went over a couple of things with Rose like how to walk like a First Order recruit and how to pass through security checkpoints if they came across any – and Finn was sure they would encounter a few of them. At least he knew of how easy they were to pass, really, all you had to do was state your name, rank, and business, and as long as the story seemed plausible and you didn’t act like you just were about to get caught, you would get through. He took this time to create aliases and stories that he knew would work. Security wasn’t that tight and the personnel didn’t want to hold up the crowd by making a long process to pass.

“You know,” he whispered to her, “I had test scores high enough to put me on the track to becoming an officer. If I had stayed, I might have worn this uniform for real in just a few months.”

And the thought of that both impressed Rose and terrified her because she could easily imagine him being the enemy right now while he was wearing that. Just a few days ago, he was in their ranks and now he was back posing as being one of them. If she had not already proven to herself that Finn was trustworthy, she might have been questioning that right now.

“Where will Rey be?” she asked, trying to change the subject.

“On the top floors, I bet. If they’re not holding her prisoner.” He bit his lower lip with a frown, obviously not liking either scenario. “The top floors are heavily patrolled and we know there’s at least one Knight of Ren onboard. I don’t want to personally meet the Supreme Leader right now either.”

“What are we gonna do?” They had kind of gone over a plan in the yacht, but they hadn’t had enough time to really discuss the finer details. This really was a last-ditch effort to cripple the First Order and it doubled as a possible rescue mission. Rose really didn’t think that Rey had thought over what would happen after she gave herself up to the enemy either. She was brave, that was sure, but sometimes bravery could also be an act of stupidity.

“I have no intention of going up there,” said Finn. “We _will_ get caught if we do. No, we’re going to create a distraction that will give Rey enough time to escape.”

“How will she find us?” Rose found it hard to believe that even a Jedi could find two Resistance members in a sea of First Order personnel, especially since the purpose of wearing their uniforms was to blend in.

“She’ll either find us or she’ll escape on her own. I know Rey. She’ll make it out.”

Rose hoped he was right. They were all making a big gambit with this mission, even more so than with the codebreaking stuff. 

Placing her hand over the spot where her necklace lay under her uniform, Rose said a brief prayer to no one in particular, hoping that somehow they would make it out of this in one piece.

* * *

Rey stared at the cuffs around her hands to see if she could find any weakness in them to exploit; the problem was that these were a newer technology than the ones she had occasionally scavenged off Star Destroyers on Jakku. After scanning them with her eyes, she found that the technology was too unfamiliar for her to remove them herself. This left her at a severe disadvantage. She wouldn’t be able to use her lightsaber well enough to fight off Ren or Snoke if she needed to.

She looked up at Kylo Ren, who was silently staring at her. The turbolift was eerily silent, too, as it took them to where Snoke waited.

“Almost there,” Ren broke the silence with a small grin on his face. It made him look smug. If Rey had the lightsaber in her hand, she would have felt the urge to use it to wipe that grin off permanently. She noted the long scar down his face, this being the first time that she really got a chance to look at it, and she remembered how she gave that to him only days before.

Closing her eyes, she reached out to the Force to see if she could try to gauge his emotions, wondering if he would be someone to mask them from others or allow them out in the open. She had very little practice, but Kylo Ren didn’t seem like one to try to hide anything.

And this was confirmed when she felt his smugness radiate around him. She knew that he knew that she had no intention to join him and Snoke. He also projected something close to disappointment in the Force, she thought. 

Well, then, the façade worked enough to get her here and even if she had wanted to keep the farce up longer, this would have to be enough. It made it a lot easier than fighting through the entire star destroyer, especially now that she had seen how huge the Supremacy was. 

At the same time, he projected something else in the Force that surrounded them. Insecurity. Questions. When Rey reached out to the Force to infer that feeling she found that he was totally consumed by the darkness.

That was until she found one small glimmer of light struggling against the dark side.

Rey found herself surprised, convinced as she had been that he had completely surrendered to the dark side. It made her feel uneasy, but it didn’t change her attitude towards him. He had tried to use the Force before to manipulate her, back when she was on Ahch-To. She knew he very well could be trying to trick her now.

But she found herself trying to appeal to that light anyway. Later, when she reflected back to this moment, she realized that none of this had mattered and maybe she had been stupid to even try it.

“There is conflict in you. It’s tearing you apart.” She knew the hope that this would change anything was faint, but she at least needed to try.

Ren made no comment on this and turned his head to stare blankly at the doors of the turbolift. He stiffened slightly. 

“I know when the moment comes, you will realize that this is the best choice.”

The best choice… The wrong choice... A lot of choices had been set out for Rey to make lately. Some, it seemed, had already been decided for her. But even in her anger and sadness, when she stressed over the idea that maybe she made the wrong choice at times, Rey realized that she had always had a choice even then. 

The lightsaber may have called to her and she may have not wanted it at first, but in the end, Rey had chosen to embrace the Force. No one had actually made her. She could even choose to reject it again if she made it off the _Supremacy_ alive.

Ren had also been given choices and made those decisions for himself. He chose the dark side over the chance of forgiveness from a father that loved him. While Rey had only known Han for a short time, she remembered the rage she felt that his death had created. She would have given anything to have even known a father, let alone one that obviously had loved his child so much. 

In her fear, sadness, and anger, the dark side would always be there calling to her. But Rey had chosen the light and accepted the fact that all those bad feelings were just a part of being alive. The dark side would never have her as long as she understood that she had a choice not to let those feelings consume her. 

The turbolift came to a stop and broke her from her thoughts.

Without a word, Ren ushered her out and into a corridor. It looked like all the other corridors she had seen on her brief walk through the _Supremacy,_ but there were no First Order personnel in sight, no sounds of droids doing their work, no sounds of the footsteps of stormtroopers marching their routes.

There were, however, two crimson red guards standing in front of a very large and strangely ornate gold door. If Rey had not sensed their presence in the Force, she might have thought they were statues with their deathlike stillness and unworldly red costume. 

Wait, were there even beings under those masks? Maybe Snoke was powerful enough to create living statues from his abilities in the dark side.

…She was still pretty certain that that wasn’t how the Force worked either.

Rey jumped as Kylo Ren approached her and brushed his gloved hands against her skin. She was about to say mutter an insult, but then she noticed that the cuffs were being loosened before her wrists were free of them.

He was… letting her go? She didn’t understand.

As if sensing her confusion of the gesture, Ren explained, “The Supreme Leader does not like his guests restrained. We will enter the throne room, and he will hold audience with you.”

* * *

Finn and Rose stood at the far end of the commons and stared through a viewport to look at rows of computer banks and circuit breakers intended to support the high-energy needs of the Star Destroyer.

“What do you say we disable anything they have on the Resistance?” Finn asked. 

Rose grinned and BB-8 shuffled around in the trash bin in excitement.

They entered the room and looked inside to find it empty, as Finn had expected it to be. The First Order had technicians to man this room, but often their work here was only in emergency situations or database failure. Droids were the ones that did most of the work here.

He lifted the trash bin off BB-8. “Okay, Beebee-ate, do your stuff.”

The droid beeped quietly and rolled over to the nearest control panel.

“So if we get caught while we’re here…” Rose began.

“I know where the nearest escape pods are,” he told her. 

Rose rolled her eyes. “Of course you do.” Then she gasped when she realized what she had said and clutched both her hands over her mouth.

Finn rolled his eyes. “I _lived_ here once, remember? All the cadets know where escape pods are in case of evacuation.”

And he felt a little frustrated with Rose again. She may have realized what she had said was another belittlement towards him and felt guilt, but she still couldn’t control her voice before her brain caught up, obviously. He still wondered if Rose’s negative opinion of him persisted somewhere in her mind, though he hoped that they had moved past that.

But he was jolted out of his thoughts when a door opened on their opposite side and a black BB unit came rolling in.

* * *

Ren nodded to the guards who moved silently away from the doors. With a hiss of the hydraulics, the doors began to open slowly, revealing a large darkened room.

He pushed her to move forward. Rey took a few steps in and when they were both into the chamber, the doors closed behind them.

It was almost like she was in a completely different structure than the _Supremacy._ The walls were a deep, seamless red that almost made her feel disoriented. There was no sign of the steel and black structures that the First Order preferred for their architecture and starships. The floors were a metallic black at least, but while the room was huge, Rey found that it had very little in the way of décor and furniture. She had expected far more from the man that called himself the Supreme Leader and this room looked very much like a cheap attempt at creating a sense of intimidation. 

And in the very center of this almost empty red room, was a being that Rey could only assume was Snoke.

Like every figure of myth and legend that she has met lately, Rey found Snoke to be nothing like she expected. The rumors of the Supreme Leader’s terrifying power and strength made Rey believe that she would be meeting a monstrous figure that reeked of the remnants of the Sith. This being was not that. He was… well, Rey wasn’t quite sure what species Snoke was. She had never seen anything like him. Under his robes of gold, he looked human, but at a glance he was much too tall and slender to be a human… so maybe a humanoid species? He looked simply ancient with parts of his face disfigured and bashed in, as if any attempts to reconstruct his face had been done poorly or his injuries had been beyond repair.

To be blunt, Snoke seemed almost too frail for her to consider a threat, but Rey knew better. His eyes, a startling blue, held a gaze that told her that he was dangerous and intelligent, sizing her up the moment she stepped foot into the room. Anyone that led the First Order in their military conquest had to have something sinister within them.

Thinking back to what Finn and Luke had told her, she wondered how this being continued to amass the power he had originally grasped for. Perhaps when he first approached the First Order, he looked just as old and frail as he did here and so had not actually changed in the amount of time he had sat on his throne

“Well done, my good and faithful apprentice,” Snoke crooned in a deep voice to Kylo Ren as they approached. “My faith in you has been restored.

Ren kneeled before Snoke and looked down to the ground. But Snoke had no interest in Ren at the moment. All of his focus was on Rey.

“Young Rey, welcome.”

She stepped forward. She was not going to kneel to him.

“So much strength," Snoke observed. “So much darkness. And light to meet it.” He looked down at Ren, who was standing from his kneel. “I warned my young apprentice that as he grew stronger, his equal in the light would rise.” He chuckled. “Skywalker, I assumed. Wrongly.” 

…What?

But before Rey could think anything fully through, Snoke beckoned her forward, pulling her in with the Force to make her step up to the throne.

“Come closer, child.”

He knew that she wasn’t here to join them, the First Order, or the dark side. Perhaps she was unable to hide her presence in the light of the Force and she did not know how to cut herself off the way Luke had. She did not plan this, but she understood that she may not be strong enough to defeat him. Everything she was doing was for the Resistance, for Leia, for Luke, for Chewbacca, and for Finn.

She was doing this for hope and out of the love she had already formed for these beings.

“You see my face, child?” Snoke asked, gesturing his hand to the scars. “Skywalker did this to me. Many years ago. He thought he would take back my apprentice and the Knights of Ren. But he failed. He could not kill me and he could not kill his own students. The light made him weak. But you, child, you can do so much better.”

Rey looked him squarely in the eyes. She was not afraid to speak to him now. “You underestimate Skywalker and me,” she told him. “It will be your downfall.”

Snoke looked amused. “Oh,” he whispered slowly. “Have you seen something? A weakness in myself?” He slowly lifted his hand. 

She found that she could not move or speak. Like how Ren had froze her in the forest on Takodana, Snoke was doing this to her now.

Kriff…

“Young fool,” Snoke chuckled. 

He manipulated Rey’s immobile body and pushed it down to the cold floor. Her heart pounded. Rey tried to break free of the grasp, but she could not. She may have a grasp on the Force and know some things about how to use it, but not with the strength or ability that Snoke had.

From the corner of her eye, she could see Kylo Ren watching the scene quietly. It may have been Rey’s imagination, but she thought that she saw a flicker of uncertainty reflected on his scarred face. Perhaps, her mind entertained, even fear.

Snoke smirked, knowing what she was thinking. “He won’t help you,” he taunted. “You think that you were connected somehow, yes, I can see that. I thought that if I connected your minds, we would be able to find where you and Skywalker were hiding, maybe even convince you to come here to join us, but you are so very stubborn.”

Rey’s eyes widened, realizing that the dreams were not her imagination or from her mind’s anxiety, Snoke had bridged them to manipulate her. But it didn’t quite work the way he wanted obviously, though he seemed to believe it had. She did not think that she shared anything resembling a bond or connection with the man staring silently at her now except perhaps through mental thought; she wondered if she had accidentally shared anything with him about the Resistance or Luke. 

Despite everything, she still delivered herself right into the trap that they had set for her.

“And now, you will tell me where you have been.”

A light flicker of pain shot through her. It was like someone had pricked her with a needle and the pain radiated through her body from the spot. Then another prick of pain. She gasped.

“Then I will kill you with the cruelest strike.”

Rey then felt a tug in her mind. She recognized this too. This is how she felt when Kylo Ren broke into her mind on Starkiller. Snoke was going to break into her mind, take what he wanted and then kill her. She’d be lucky if he made it quick and didn’t let her suffer long.

With each moment the pain grew in intensity. It radiated through her body by a tenfold.

“No!” she cried. She tried to block him out, but she couldn’t fight him off like she did Kylo Ren. Snoke was looking for something in particular. He searched through her mind while she tried to use her other memories to block out what he wanted. She couldn’t let him find out what had happened on the island.

“Give me what I want,” Snoke growled with frustration.

“No!”

His anger had risen, and with it, the pain became too unbearable. Rey couldn’t think; all she could do was feel, and she waited for when the pain would finally end.

* * *

The black droid stared at them before it took off at full speed, back in the direction of the door.

“No, no, no!” Finn gasped, lunging to try to catch it but missing by mere inches.

“Beebee-ate!” Rose called. “We’ve gotta go!”

The Resistance droid backed away from the control panel and beeped something to them.

“Well,” said Rose. “At least this didn’t completely go sour.”

“What’s that?” asked Finn.

“Beebee-ate says he just finished wiping the First Order’s system of files on Resistance intel. They’ll have to start from square one. He didn’t have time to destroy all the files in the system for other things, though.”

Finn smiled and then broke into a hurried walk. “C’mon,” he said. “We’ve got to get out of here before-"

And before he could finish his sentence, a troop of a dozen stormtroopers entered the room, blasters drawn and aimed. A security officer and the black BB unit was with them.

The clank of metal footsteps followed close behind them. It was a sound too familiar to Finn for him to be mistaken by what it meant, and it meant nothing good.

“FN-two-one-eight-seven,” a feminine voice purred. “So good to have you back.”

He silently cursed to himself. Of all the people to have survived Starkiller and make it to the _Supremacy,_ it had to be the one person in the First Order that possibly knew his skills the best. He had hoped he left her in the trash compactor and that their last encounter would be the last he would ever see of her.

Finn looked in the direction of the voice and came face to face with his old commander. In her pristine, shined metallic armor, Captain Phasma stood with her blaster drawn and the angriest stance that Finn had possibly ever seen her in.

* * *

At some point, she realized that she had been turned to be on her back and that her throat had felt like she had been screaming. She was tired. Her face was wet from tears. Her mind was in pain too.

Rey wished to die. Anything to stop this.

And then, Snoke found what he wanted.

“Well, well…” he laughed. “I did not expect Skywalker to be so wise. We will give him and the Jedi Order the death he desires.”

His grip on her mind loosened and the pain began to vanish. She fell to the floor with a light thud, as Snoke had used the Force to lift her body about a foot or two off the floor while he was hurting her.

But even though the source of the inflicted pain had lifted, Rey’s body continued to ache and twitch. She wasn’t screaming anymore, but she found that her mind was repeating the same word over and over again in her head. No, no. No.

“No, no, no…” she said out loud in a whisper. She was holding her head as she curled her knees towards her chest. Rey could feel herself shake.

She was so certain that Snoke was going to kill her now. She was waiting for it. And yet, he didn’t. Perhaps he was going to draw out her death for as long as possible after all. Break into her mind over and over and make her live through the darkest moments of her life one more time before she died.

Rey thought about the message that R2 had recorded back on the _Millennium Falcon_ for her before she arrived on Crait. The recording was rushed, but she had recorded short messages for all the people in her life that she had come to love and messages with information for the Resistance. She had instructed R2 to get the recordings to the right people if she didn’t make it out of the fight alive.

For Luke, she had confessed that she had removed the Jedi texts and artifacts from the tree and had stored them in the _Millennium Falcon._ At the time that she had removed them, she was not sure if she could convince him to return and decided that she would use the texts to teach herself. She had urged him to try to rebuild the Jedi Order again. Ben Solo might have been a failure, but he had chosen that path for himself. If Luke tried again, maybe the second time would be a success.

For Leia, she had left information about all she could tell her about the First Order’s capabilities from what she saw on Starkiller Base and their fleet as she arrived on Crait. 

And for Finn…

Finn’s had took the longest to record as Rey had to start over a few times. She had burst into tears when she first started to record and then after she had composed herself and tried again, she had found herself at a loss for words. There was simply too much she wanted to tell him and too little of time to say it. After a moment longer of thought, she had found that she knew exactly what to say.

_“Thank you, my friend…”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact:  
> Chapters 15 and 16 were the first parts that I wrote for this story. They've been sitting on my computer waiting to be uploaded for months.
> 
> Back in TFA, Han Solo told Kylo Ren that Snoke was just using him and would likely kill him when he was done with him. Kylo Ren somewhat acknowledged that he understood this. For this chapter, I wanted to hint that he was starting to come to terms with that reality, however, he is not interested in returning to the light nor has he ever asked for or taken up offers of redemption. He selected power over his friends and family long ago.
> 
> Finn looks good in a First Order officer's uniform, but I'd rather see him in a Resistance officer's uniform.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hux makes a terrifying proposal. Rey fights back. Finn finds the bug in the system.

The stormtroopers surrounded Finn and Rose, ready to take them prisoner. Rose struggled against the white suits of armor trying to subdue her, but Finn shook his head to tell her to stop. Fighting them would do them no good right now. Their hidden weapons were useless in this situation. There were simply too many troopers in the room.

They were taken to a hangar, where a large number of stormtroopers had been lined up to watch the spectacle. Phasma made the call for her troops to assemble as they were marched down. Finn had an idea of what was about to happen, but he didn’t want to tell Rose. It would only upset her even more and he needed to be able to think of a way out of this without her added anxiety.

General Hux watched as they approached him, his face looked bored but his eyes betrayed him. There was anger there as he watched their traitor return to them. Finn knew that his defection had been an embarrassment to the First Order and that it was a bigger sting to the general because Finn had defected from the program that his father had created and so carefully crafted to squash out any traitorous thought. Finn believed that he was not the only defector, but he also knew that the First Order would have gone to great lengths to cover the incident. If any other defectors had survived and managed never to be caught, well, Finn had never heard of them. It was likely that their disappearances would have been reported as deaths caused by accidents and violence.

“Your orders, sir?” Phasma asked.

Hux looked over Finn in his stolen officer uniform, crafting ideas in his head and deciding on the best plan of action. Then he stared at Rose for a moment, before quickly making a decision on what to do with her.

“Send the traitor to interrogation,” he told Phasma. “When we’re done with him, he’ll be sent to reconditioning.”

Finn felt his stomach drop. He had hoped that at the very least, the First Order would not want him around anymore as a reminder to their failure. Death would be quick and he recalled how reconditioned troops had been altered with tech and torture, becoming a mere shell of what they once were. They might as well have just been battle droids.

But then Hux smiled, knowing what Finn was thinking based on his facial reaction.

“Wait,” he amended. “Execute the Resistance girl,” he said. “Make the traitor watch.”

Finn said a quiet, “No,” before looking over at Rose, who stared at the general with terrifying shock. Her shaking was very visible now, not that Finn could blame her for that.

He might have thought that reconditioning was the worst punishment he could face for his defection once, but this had proven to be far worse.

Out of all the things that he could have been forced to endure, Finn did not want to watch Rose Tico die at the blade of an executioner.

* * *

Rey didn’t know for how long she had sat in front of Snoke’s throne, rocking herself back and forth. He had left her alone after finding what he wanted in her mind. She guessed he would wait until she was back to her senses before continuing. 

The pain wasn’t so bad anymore; now she was just tired and felt worse than starvation and dehydration ever made her feel. Her mind still hurt. It almost felt like her brain had been bruised.

She finally was able to calm herself a little, Rey stood herself up on wobbling legs. She might die here, but she wasn’t going to just let Snoke put her down like a wounded animal. She groaned as her leg muscles seared in pain at the effort to stand.

Kylo Ren stood by Snoke’s throne now. He watched, horrified, as Snoke had tortured Rey. Perhaps, Rey thought, he believed he was seeing how his own end would come. She honestly hoped that was exactly what he was thinking. Waiting for your fate, knowing what would happen sometimes was much more painful than when it actually came.

Rey stared Snoke in the eyes as she reached for the lightsaber and ignited it to life. She was not sure why, but it had never been taken from her. Perhaps Snoke thought that she wouldn’t have any fight left in her when he was done. The familiar hum and blue glow against her skin seemed a little comforting to her. She forced her tired limbs into an attack stance, ready to strike when the opportunity arose.

The chance to kill him gave her one last burst of energy to try. Even if it killed her, she was going to take him with her.

The two crimson guards inside the room also positioned to attack. She made a quick check of her opponents to understand what she was up against. One held a double-edged spear, and the other was equipped with a whip-like weapon. Both weapons seemed to be electrified, making them all the more dangerous. They were poised to attack, ready to cut her down if they were ordered to.

“Such spunk,” Snoke commented with a small grin. “And still that fiery spirit of hope. You have the true spirit of a Jedi.” And then his face took a more sinister expression. “And because of that, you must die.”

The guards rushed at her. Rey reached out with the Force and trusted her instincts. As the guard with the whip swung his weapon to strike her, Rey used the lightsaber to block the attack and pivoted to block the incoming spear edge.

The guard with the whip regained his footing and turned to her. They looked at each other for a moment before the guard struck. Rey met him again with her lightsaber, meeting her weapon with the base of his.

She growled as she tried to push his weapon away. However, he twisted it, trying to find an opening to strike her.

The weapon hit her right shoulder. It seared with pain, but Rey continued to try to hold off the attack from causing further damage. The pointed end of the whip was now pointed at her neck. The guard now had a hold on her injured shoulder, bracing her for his attempt at a fatal blow. If she couldn’t break away from him…

She had no choice. Instinct told her to bend around to throw off the weight of the guard, then to push at him with the Force. The sudden impact of an unforeseen weight made the guard stumble back as he tried to regain his footing. It worked, and Rey found herself out of the reach of weapon. She held her stance with the lightsaber ready to strike.

However, her movement did put her in a short moment of perfect opportunity. The guard’s back was to her, but she’d only get a moment to get this shot in. 

She lunged and extended her arm out. The saber, aimed for the guard’s chest, made contact. Using her strength, she pushed the saber right through the crimson chest plate.

The lightsaber caught against the whip. When she pulled back from the guard, his own weapon sliced right through him. She tossed it away as he crumbled to the floor, barely missing the other guard with and hitting the blood red wall across the room with a spark of electricity.

Snoke snarled and slammed his fist against the throne’s arm.

The second guard stood up from where he dodged the whip. Rey held the lightsaber in front of her, ready for him to strike. Behind him, the wall which the whip had stuck began to catch fire.

Suddenly, the guard broke his staff in two and began to approach her.

Alright, she could deal with this.

She swung the lightsaber in a circular motion and cried out when he got too close. She struck at the first blade as it came towards her, but missed dodging the second one, which slashed into her side.

Upon contact, she yelled out in pain.

Rey swung again, this time for the guard’s head, but he ducked and raised his blade again. She raised the saber to block the downward strike but when the weapons caught together, the guard kicked out and struck her in the leg, causing her to fall to her stomach.

The room was now covered in flames. Rey could see a couple of assistants, cloaked in a purple draping fabric, trying to dowse the flames.

Yet despite the fires, Snoke and Kylo Ren still watched. Waited.

Quickly, she picked herself up and slashed blindly at the guard as he inched towards her again. He struck with one blade, but Rey met it with the lightsaber but she missed the second blade again. He had his hand on the lightsaber’s hilt and she had hers on the hilt of the blade. The guard had her locked with the blade too close to her throat.

She screamed as she tried breaking away from him again. Using all of her weight against him, she struggled to push him away.

Rey had an idea; it was risky, but it might work.

She dropped the lightsaber and quickly ducked away, catching it before it hit the ground. With the guard taking the moment to figure out what she just did, Rey took the opportunity to slash him across the abdomen, and then again, this time across his neck. He crumpled away, like a broken toy that Rey had once seen child travelers play with on Jakku.

“Stop her!” she heard Snoke growl from the other side of the room.

She wasn’t going to give anyone else a chance to subdue her. Rey knew she had been injured pretty badly and that if Snoke got to her again, survival through another round of torture was unlikely.

Rey sprinted for the door and struck her lightsaber against the panel to make it malfunction and cause the door to open. She ran past the two guards outside and about a second after, when they realized what was going on, they gave chase.

In the throne room, Snoke turned to Kylo Ren. “Find her. Kill her, if you must. I don’t have need for her.”

“I know what I have to do,” replied Ren.

“Complete your training and fulfill your destiny.”

* * *

General Hux did not stay to watch the execution of Rose, deciding that she was unimportant and too unremarkable of a Resistance member to personally oversee her death. 

The stormtroopers led Finn and Rose to a platform, which rose a couple of feet in the air thanks to hydraulics under the floor, to make a show of the event. Rose was driven to her knees and Finn was kept in a tight lock by some of the largest stormtroopers in order to keep him in one spot, forcing him to watch. He was on the verge of a panic attack, just like the one he experienced a few days before on that fateful night when the First Order slaughtered a village on Jakku.

Finn frantically looked around the hangar, looking for something, anything, that could help him get away from his captors. 

The appearance of an orange and white domed head peeking out from behind one of the TIEs brought down to the floor for maintenance tipped him off that something was about to happen.

Phasma approached Rose and for a moment, she could imagine that she could see the captain smiling underneath her chrome helmet. 

“A blaster would be too good for Resistance scum,” she announced. “Let’s make it hurt.”

This made Finn struggle even more. 

Rose looked up at him, teary-eyed and realized that at least she was given the mercy of a quick death. She hoped Finn would not have to suffer through whatever reconditiong was. It sounded pretty bad, if they were making it a special punishment for him. He looked so horrified when Hux first announced it.

She wished she had gotten to know him better. Rose would admit that their first couple of hours together had been difficult, they were such different people, but once she got over her initial disappointment in him, she found that Finn had really been the hero that everyone thought he was.

At least Paige wasn’t wrong about him in the end. And Rose would get to be with her sister soon.

“On my command,” Phasma ordered with her hand raised in the air.

A troop in black and white armor approached her. His helmet – at least, Rose assumed it was a he, though she noted that there seemed to be an even amount of men and women among the troops – bore a black stripe and the rest of his armor donned black markings.

The laser axe in his hands was the worst part of his getup. When it was activated, it buzzed ominously to her ears.

 _I hope this is quick,_ she thought.

* * *

Rey found herself in the engine room of the _Supremacy._ She was hoping to find an escape pod off the Star Destroyer, but this one was so massive that many of the features that the ones she scavenged on Jakku had weren’t in the places she expected to be.

To make matters worse, she sensed that Kylo Ren was tailing her. Rey didn’t know if she had the energy to fight him off this time. In the forest, he had been injured, but this time their roles were in reverse and Ren had far more experience in the Force and with lightsabers than she did.

She had a bad feeling about this.

And if she got into an escape pod, would Ren follow her back to the Resistance? They were hurting on manpower as it was and bringing a full-fledged dark sider to them sounded like a pretty bad idea.

But Rey knew Star Destroyers and she knew exactly what engines could take before it went down. Even one that was significantly larger than the ones she was used to would probably have the same weaknesses. She had a new idea.

“Scavenger!” Ren shouted. He was close.

Rey squeezed herself in a gap between some machinery. She tried to hide herself in the Force so that Ren could not sense her but she was not sure if she was doing it right. If she survived, she would have to ask Luke how he was able to cut himself off and if there was a good way to make herself indistinguishable in the Force.

She saw his boots pass by her vision followed by a faint glow of red light. In a few moments, she would have to emerge from the gap with her lightsaber ignited and fight. If she stayed hidden, he would eventually sense her whereabouts and corner her.

“Coward!” shouted Ren. “Show yourself, Rey!”

And so she did. 

He had a slight look of surprise when she suddenly emerged behind him. She stabbed her saber in his direction, but he turned around just in time to block it.

So went their fight. Back and forth, their lightsabers would meet with a harsh hissing sound. For the first time, Rey noticed how his saber seemed to be unstable. It flickered and crackled, even when it wasn’t brushed against hers. Fitting really, for its wielder almost seemed to be equally unstable.

Their blades crossed and they pushed against one another. They were locked together, knowing that any slight movement could unbalance them, causing one of them to come into contact with the hot plasma blades. Rey, however, could feel her footing begin to slip.

“We don’t have to do this,” Ren said.

Rey growled at him. “No, we don’t.”

Ren pulled back and deactivated his lightsaber. She looked at him with confusion, but didn’t follow his gesture. She didn’t trust him.

“Rey,” he breathed. “Join me. There’s a connection, you and I. We can rule together and bring a new order to the galaxy.”

She arched her brow. “What about Snoke?”

“With the two of us together, we don’t need Snoke. We can get rid of him.”

She rolled her eyes. She couldn’t believe what he was saying. Even for the First Order, Rey could not see Kylo Ren being a good leader. That General Hux guy for one, didn’t seem to like being ordered around by Ren, if what she observed from her initial arrival to the Star Destroyer was correct. They’d probably murder each other, or well, Hux would try but fail.

And she had no interest in ruling the galaxy, and especially alongside him. To rule beside him would be a betrayal to the Resistance and her friends.

And well, that isn’t who Rey is.

“Not interested,” she said and held up her lightsaber to attack again and in response, Ren reactivated his.

Their blades locked once again, but this time, Rey took note of her opponent’s stance. He was tense and he held his blade in a death grip. It made her think of what Luke told her only two days before…

In a last-ditch effort, Ren lifted his arm in front of him. Rey gasped as he entered her mind.

…Not again.

And this time, she found her mind, like her body, too tired to fight him off.

He found the memory of Rey in the cave with Luke. He saw her look into the dark mirror and see the murky reflection of her parents staring back at her.

“You’re nobody,” he concluded, with a small gasp of surprise. His grip on her mind tightened and he flooded all of her senses with pain.

“No…” she muttered weakly. She was shaking now. 

“You know the truth,” he said. “Say it. You have no place in this story.” 

The pain was becoming so great that Rey was beginning to cry again. “No.”

“You come from nothing. You _are_ nothing.” He was taunting her now. Trying to prey upon all of her fears, and pains, and insecurities. “But I can give you more than what you have ever deserved. Join me, Rey.”

“No!”

“You are nothing but scavenger scum.” He was yelling, obviously frustrated with her lack of expected response. “Nothing! Say it!”

Rey thought of everything she didn’t have while growing up, then she thought of all the things she had gained in the last couple of days. Friends. A cause to fight for. Purpose. Hope. Love.

She was more in this moment than anything she had ever been. Kylo Ren would never give her any of those things, the things that she had always wanted to have the most.

 _The light will always guide you,_ a voice in her head seemed to say. _Listen._

And then, Rey found within herself, one last burst of strength to fight.

She pushed back against his blade, pushing it away from him, towards his right, at an awkward angle. Like this, he couldn’t break free from her and she backed him into a wall. Ren tried to reach his other arm to help him get a better grip on his weapon.

But Rey knew how to use his weakness against him. Unlike him, she had listened to his uncle’s lessons.

She broke free of Kylo Ren’s hold against her mind and regained her grip on the lightsaber. She swung. It felt like time had slowed as the saber inched closer to its target.

Her lightsaber struck his blade to disarm him and watched as the blade fell to the ground, but he held out his hands, willing the Force to stop her from attacking further. Then he pulled, trying to take her weapon for himself. Rey knew that she could match him in his game and called upon the Force to help her pull the lightsaber back, keeping it in her grasp. In his struggle, his power caused the lightsaber to shake in protest.

To her horror, it cracked down the center and then split into two, falling uselessly to the ground.

Rey and Ren locked eyes and then both called out to his lightsaber, laying still activated on the floor across from them. They struggled against each other again, a battle of mind and power. Whoever won would be the winner, likely being the end of the other.

But Rey proved that she was a formidable foe and the crossguard saber flew to her hands and at once, she struck out.

In a split second, she had dragged lightsaber cleanly through and across her enemy’s arm above the elbow. The limb felt with a light thud to the ground.

“I am _not_ nobody!” she snarled. 

At first, Kylo Ren did not react. His eyes widened and then he stared down at the severed limb at his feet.

And then he screamed as he clutched the stump of his arm to his chest.

Horrified by what she had done, but understanding that she really had no other option Rey took her chance. She used the Force to push him back against a row of pipes. He hit them with a large clank and slid down to the floor. He wasn’t moving; his eyes were closed.

And then she picked up the remains of her lightsaber and she ran.

In the next room over, Rey found the part of the engine that she was looking for. It was a massive room made for class-A mechanics to power the massive ship. But like every ship, it would go down if had taken enough direct damage to its core power sources.

Using Kylo Ren’s saber, she began to hack at pipes and gears, careful to keep herself away from the heat and steam and gas it emitted as she struck at it.

* * *

As the executioner raised his axe, Rose shut her eyes tightly, waiting for her end. 

But before the axe fell upon her, the hangar began to explode around them.

The blasts knocked a number of stormtroopers off the platform, including the executioner. When he first heard them go off, Finn had taken the opportunity to shake off the troopers that had slackened their grip in surprise and then duck down. He grabbed a blaster that had been dropped and raised it, looking around at the smoke that filled the air and the bodies of stormtroopers on the floor. The hydraulics of the platform had been damaged in the blast and it started to lower slowly back to the floor, jamming mid-way.

“Finn, c’mon.” Rose grabbed for his hand and pulled him away towards the edge of the platform. It had been lowered enough for them to jump off safely. There was a shuttle in front of them that looked to be in good condition; they could try to get away on that.

Another explosion shook the hangar, which caused the world to tilt. He lost his grip on the blaster, and it fell to the floor.

But he also spotted Captain Phasma getting up with about a dozen other stormtroopers following her lead, blasters raised.

Yet another blast sent some of those troopers flying off the platform, but then a series of blaster bolts started picking off the remaining troopers. Finn looked over and saw a two-legged walker struggle out of its moorings. Its cabin had been torn away and he saw that BB-8 was controlling it.

Under that cute, custom paint job, BB-8 was a terrifying force of a droid.

“Poe’s murder droid’s given us a chance,” said Rose. “Let’s go!”

They dodged another blast and Finn looked over his shoulder to see Phasma aiming at him, with every intent to kill him herself. The executioner’s axe lay on the platform next to him and he scooped it up. It might not be a great weapon to go against a blaster, but it would have to do.

He ran straight at Phamsa, aiming for her neck but she stopped him by holding up her blaster to take the attack for her and the axe cut right through it. She tossed the useless halves of blaster to the side and Finn moved to strike again. Before he could reach her again, she grabbed a metal rod off her utility belt and whipped it to extend it into a long, double-ended spear.

“You were never anything more than a bug in the system,” she spat.

“Me? _You’re_ the bug, Phasma. You lowered the shields to Starkiller without putting up a fight. You did that all the save your skin.”

He hoped at least one of the stormtroopers heard him, if any were still alive out there. Phasma had been revered by the cadets for being one of their own, but it was all a face, like the helmet she wore. She never cared about the First Order, just her own survival. 

“Let’s go!” he yelled, swinging at her but only for her to block it again.

Phamsa slashed the spear at him, aiming in variations at his legs and chest, when she almost struck his head, Finn practically jumped out of her way. Each time their weapons met, sparks flew from his axe. He could feel the metal of the spear vibrate in strong pulses each time it made contact.

He needed to find her weak point, the problem was that Phasma was such a skilled fighter that it seemed she had none. But Finn knew that every human, even Phasma, had a weakness, and if he couldn’t find a flaw in her armor, he would just have to make one.

She moved him towards the edge of the platform and he saw that the gap where the hydraulics were located was now in flames. He raised the axe again, but Phasma’s spear met his weapon and the vibrations from the impact caused the axe to vibrate, then break.

“You were always disobedient,” she snarled. “Disrespectful. Your emotions make you _weak.”_

But just as she was about to send a killing blow his way, the platform shook and tilted just enough for her to lose her footing. Finn took the opportunity to land a furious uppercut with his broken axe. The blow was hard enough to knock Phasma down and split her mask open.

Finn saw himself staring into a lone, icy blue eye surrounded by pale skin. In all his years under her training, Finn had never thought about the human part that hid beneath the chrome armor.

“You were always scum,” she said, coldly.

“Rebel scum,” he replied. An odd sense of pride welled in his chest as he said it.

The floor began to shake again and the platform collapsed, sending Phasma into the fire. Finn had managed to throw himself off the platform and safely – though not softy – onto the floor of the hangar.

He saw the walker that BB-8 was controlling approach him. Rose was sitting on top of it.

“Need a lift?” she asked.

* * *

Finn and Rose were running out of time. The explosions had stopped, but it was obvious that the _Supremacy_ was collapsing. Evacuation orders were called and they managed to sneak through the ship by avoiding the main paths and high-traffic areas. Stormtroopers were marched in orderly fashion to escape transports and officers were making their way to their respectable places.

Yet Rey was nowhere to be found.

Finn had a feeling that Rey might have been behind the explosions. It seemed like something she could do and no one had commed him to tell them that the Resistance was launching an assault on the _Supremacy._ He hoped that wherever she was, she was okay. 

“Where do you think she’d be?” whispered Rose as they looked around a corner to make sure it was clear before proceeding. She kept tugging at the collar of her officer’s uniform nervously. They both were holding blasters in their hands, ones that they had picked up on their way out of the hangar off the bodies of fallen stormtroopers. It bothered Finn a little to see so many bodies on the floor, realizing that one of those bodies easily could have been him once and he wondered if he had ever met any of the fallen in the past.

He thought for a moment, putting himself back into the present. The thing about Rey was that she knew the mechanical components of Star Destroyers far better than most and she was able to squeeze into places that Finn would never have known existed. But there was a specific place that she had to be to set off those explosions. They seemed too random to be planted detonators, too.

“What could have set off those explosions?” he asked Rose, who squinted her face up in thought before coming to a conclusion.

“Seems like extreme damage to the engine room,” she supplied. “Probably.”

“Then that’s where we’re heading.” He cringed. “Unless it’s too dangerous.”

“And if she’s not there-?”

Finn sighed. He didn’t want to think of what they would do if Rey wasn’t there, but he knew that they only had so long before the Star Destroyer failed and they all died. But Rey was crafty; if she wasn’t in the engine room, he would guess that she would find her own way off.

“If she’s not there, we go back to the transport,” he said. “Do you think it’s still there?” He had faith in Rose’s cloaking tech abilities, but if the First Order had detected it while they were running around, they might have moved it into one of the hangars for inspection.

Rose shrugged. “Well, I don’t want to think of it _not_ being there.”

Fair point.

He looked around to the next corridor. “All clear,” he said. 

They made a run for it.

* * *

Rey took one last look at her handiwork. The engine room was filled with busted machinery, smoke, and melted metal lines from where her lightsaber struck. For good measure, she tossed the lightsaber on the way out, flinging it towards the damaged piping in the center of the room. She didn’t want any memory of that man to stay with her.

By now, she was pretty certain that she wasn’t going to make it off the _Supremacy._ At least she made sure she took as many First Order lackies down with her as she could.

She still at least tried to move herself out of the room and back into one of the corridors. Part of her still clutched to the part of her brain that willed her to stay alive. Even though she accepted the fact that she was likely to meet her end here, Rey did not wish to die. She did not expect to see anyone else in the area, certain that everyone had deemed the Star Destroyer a lost cause and opted to go to evacuated instead. Maybe, a small part of her mind held on to hope, she could find a small transport that no one thought to use.

Rey was tired. Her body was completely worn out and her legs were threatening to give out. Her arm was a bloody mess and it felt numb instead of the pain she experienced shooting up it at first.

Her right leg was the first to give way and she slid down the side of the metal panels of the walls, moving herself into a sitting position.

So tired…

Then she heard the sound of quick footsteps, like a few people were running in her direction. 

“Oh, no,” she heard a familiar deep voice say. “No, no, no! Rey!”

_Finn._

She looked up and smiled to see him and Rose shuffling up to her. They were wearing First Order uniforms; there was a story behind that and Rey wanted to hear about another of their adventures that she missed. BB-8 trailed behind them and made a wailing noise when he spotted her. 

Rey was happy to see them and at the same time not. They shouldn’t be here; they shouldn’t be on the _Supremacy_ at all. If Finn and Rose died because of her…

But Finn had come back for her again, and Rose too. Something in her heart tugged at the thought. 

Finn and Rose went to their knees to kneel beside her. “Oh, Rey,” breathed Finn as he looked her over. There was blood on her shoulders and a burn gash down her right arm. 

“Can you stand?” asked Rose.

Rey knew she probably could, but if she went with them, she’d only slow them down. So she decided to lie. “No,” she said. She looked up at Finn’s face, into his gentle eyes, then she lifted her arm up to place her hand against his cheek. There was a scrape down it. “You’re bleeding,” she noted. “What happened?”

Finn grinned. “I’ll tell you all about it in the yacht.”

She shook her head. “No, I’ll only slow you down.”

He rolled his eyes and moved to his knees, semi-standing with his back facing her. “You can either climb on, Rey, or I will throw you over my shoulder and carry you out.”

“But your blaster—“

Rose stopped her. “I can handle that part.” She took Finn’s rifle from him and stored her own blaster away.

Well, Rey guessed that there was no arguing with them then, not that they had time for that either. Honestly, what did she expect would happen? So with a resigned sigh she shakily stood up and pressed herself against Finn’s back. She put her hands on his shoulders for balance. 

While Finn was righting himself with her on his back, Rose kept a steadying hand against Rey’s. “Okay?” she wanted to confirm before backing away.

“Yes,” said Rey.

“Yeah,” said Finn, adjusting himself to the addition of her weight. “Let’s go.”

Even as they stumbled down the corridors of the crumbling _Supremacy,_ Rey buried her face in Finn’s neck and realized that somehow she still felt safe.

* * *

The transport was still where they left it, thank the Maker. 

Finn sat Rey carefully down in one of the seats as Rose got the yacht to get them as far away from the _Supremacy_ as quickly as possible.

After they had left the vicinity of the Star Destroyer and Rose deemed it safe to move around the cabin, Finn removed his safety harness and went to grab a med kit from one of the compartments. He then kneeled next to Rey’s seat and began to tend to her arms.

She thought she felt a little bit of a negative feeling coming from Rose – jealousy, perhaps? – but she decided that she wasn’t in the mental condition to really tell at the moment. 

BB-8 beeped to her after nudging his rounded body against her seat to get her attention.

“I missed you too.” She placed her hand on top of the droid’s domed head in affection. 

But Rose snapped her out of her thoughts. “Rey,” she said. “I know you’re tired, but I don’t think the First Order has left Crait yet. It’s likely we’re going to land in the middle of a battlefield. We’ve got about an hour before we break into atmo. Maybe you should try to sleep.”

Rey nodded and closed her eyes. Sleep. Yes, sleep sounded like a good idea right now. Her head still hurt and there was still an ache directly behind her eyes.

She winced as Finn dabbed at a cut along her shoulder. The disinfectant against the cut stung. “Sorry,” he muttered. He then tried to wash away some of the dried blood. “What happened, Rey?” he asked.

Stopping her fidgeting, she stared down at her hands in her lap. “I’d rather listen to you, right now,” she admitted.

Finn admitted that when he saw Rey slumped in that corridor, blood marred on her arms, that he was terrified that he and Rose got to her too late. Rey was a pretty private person, all the years alone on Jakku had saw to that; Rey hadn't told him everything that had happened between her kidnapping on Takodana and her training with Skywalker without hesitation. Whatever happened between her and Kylo Ren – and an even more terrifying thought, her and _Snoke_ – had to have been absolutely horrifying if she didn’t want to even talk about it.

“Okay, Rey,” he agreed. 

He began to tell her what happened after Rey had left with Kylo Ren. He told her how brilliant Rose was to hide the transport’s power output to cloak the craft as they approached the _Supremacy._ How they infiltrated the First Order by wearing officers’ uniforms. How he and Rose disabled the trackers once and for all. Rey had fallen asleep by the time he got to Phasma catching them, but he continued to talk to her as she slept, brushing her hair from her face when a stray strand fell across it.

Finn decided not to mention their almost-execution. He didn’t want to talk about it and if Rey had come across her own near-death experience, she probably didn’t want to hear about his right now either, though he doubted that she was listening at this point.

When he looked down after telling her about how he defeated Phasma, he saw that in her sleep, Rey had the tiniest of smiles on her face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kylo Ren gets to lose a limb. Hate that guy. If he wants to be Vader, let him get the whole Vader treatment.
> 
> I wanted to see more of Phasma in the film and I hope that somehow she gets to come back for IX. She'll do anything for her own survival. It would have been interesting to see her try to track down Finn for vengeance after Starkiller or simply up and decide to leave the First Order, since her job and reputation was in jeopardy. The Phasma comic sums up what she was up to in the short time between TFA and TLJ, but I find that it is the most problematic of the tie-ins because she was gone for at least a few days to frame and kill someone else and then she returns to the First Order and reports to Hux, who is acting oddly casual and not like someone who is getting ready to destroy their enemy. 
> 
> Next week:
> 
> The beginning of the end.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The heroes return. Leia decides her legacy. Rose says thanks.

_Location: Crait_

Finn kept Rey steady as he helped her move down the yacht’s ramp. Rose had run ahead, into the tunnel to get help. While she had rested on their way back, it was obvious that Rey’s exhaustion left her worse for wear; it took quite a bit of effort to rouse her from her rest and both Finn and Rose felt guilty that they had to wake her up to move her.

“How’s the arm?” Finn asked her. He was trying to be careful to not jolt her around too much or touch any injured spots, so he kept one arm secured around her waist and another keeping her uninjured arm steady across his shoulder.

“S’not bad. Hurts a little,” she grunted. She looked half asleep.

Poe was the first person out of the tunnel, followed by a medic that could barely be spared away from their wounded. They checked Rey over and then looked at Finn’s cut. Standing by so that he could be of help if needed, Poe watched over the two of them, biting his lower lip out of worry when he began to notice the smaller details of their injuries.

“It doesn’t look deep,” the medic commented on his cut. “Did you hit your head?”

Finn shook his head. “No, luckily.”

When Rey was securely inside the mine, she was led to the makeshift medical wing. Like the one on the _Raddus,_ it was a sad excuse for a medical facility. Rey was given a spot that was a little away from the other wounded soldiers while her arm and head was looked at. She had a moment of panic when she saw just how many volunteers were in the area with gruesome injuries and Rose rushed over to try to calm her. She explained that many of them were those that had already been injured during the evacuation off D’Qar and were moved here for safety. What she omitted for Rey’s benefit, however, was that the Resistance was taking more heavy losses from the First Order. Kylo Ren may have left them alone (she worried that with Rey’s escape that he might return to finish them off), but the First Order had made no promises.

Luke and Leia watched as she passed by them. They exchanged worried glances, and Luke closed his eyes and nodded to his sister with understanding. Relieved as they were that Rey, Finn, and Rose returned to them alive, they could tell that something alarming must have happened to Rey and neither of them trusted that Snoke or Kylo Ren showed her any sort of civil hospitality. They knew what the pair was capable of.

And when Holdo approached them, the look on her face telling them that she was a bearer of bad news, they waited to hear her speak before going to Rey.

“Our distress signal has been received at multiple points,” she informed them. “But no response. No one wants to come near us when the First Order is so close.”

This made the siblings’ faces fall. Leia realized that she should have realized before that this could be a possibility. D’Qar had been the largest Resistance base, the other bases would have feared that they lacked the firepower to even consider helping. And if all the Resistance arrived and lost, the Resistance would fail. There would be no Resistance.

She didn’t blame their allies for not wanting to join in on the fight. If she was correct, they probably greatly weighed in on the issue before making a final decision. Had she been in their shoes, Leia would have found herself torn between wanting to help and needing to preserve what she had to ensure the survival of herself and the beings that she was responsible for.

Luke studied the soldiers getting ready to go up to the trenches. As much as he wanted to go to Rey, to talk to her about what happened in the hours she was gone, he knew he was needed more somewhere else. He leaned forward to kiss his sister on her forehead and without conveying words, he knew that she understood what he was going to do. Quietly, he walked to the entrance of the trenches, his mechanical hand moving over the lightsaber attached to his belt.

And then Leia watched as Poe approached Finn and Rose, who were sitting with Rey while she was getting looked over. A pilot had called him away for a moment, and Poe returned, looking rushed and alarmed. He said a few brief words to them, and they stood up and followed him out. Finn grabbed for Rey’s hand on her uninjured arm and gave it a squeeze before letting it go.

It was a pity that they did not get a peaceful time to reunite, Leia thought. She hoped that soon, the two of them would get time to catch up. She had a feeling that they had a lot to say to each other.

* * *

Finn stood by the speeders that Rose and Poe had lined up on the cliff edge. He watched the incoming First Order transports and walkers approach, but he was puzzled by their formation. In all his training, he had never seen this formation. It puzzled him and he got a feeling that something bad was about to happen.

When he saw an enormous cylinder be lowered to the ground, he knew immediately what it meant and was shocked that the First Order was bringing out the big guns – figuratively and literally. That meant that they wanted to hurry up and finish the job. When it made impact, Finn felt the ground gently shake.

With urgency and Rose following behind him, he ran through the mine until he came across General Organa and Poe.

“A battering-ram cannon,” he reported and grimaced. “We have to take it out.”

Poe and Rose looked to each other, uncertainty on their faces.

“Load up,” said Poe with a sigh. “Let’s do it.”

General Organa found herself looking down the line of speeder pilots one more time. It was miraculous that they had only lost one pilot during their initial distraction mission.

“Try not to get in range of that cannon,” she warned them. “It’s being towed by tug walkers. If we take them out, the cannon stops. If we break the cables that it’s being towed by, it stops. That would be the easiest way to stop it.”

* * *

Rey watched from the makeshift medical ward as General Ematt passed out blaster rifles to whoever was both physically able to shoot and had good enough aim that they wouldn’t accidently hurt a friend. They had found a stock of ammunition from the Rebellion and decided to use them as a last resort. Rey hoped that it wouldn’t come to that spot of desperation.

She received a rifle and watched as some of the troops headed out towards the trenches. Without her lightsaber and being too tired to really put up a fight, Rey felt useless. Even when she tried to do the simple task of standing upright, her legs would shake

“I should go with them,” she said, clutching the blaster to her midsection.

But Luke, who was sitting by her, shook his head. “You should rest. You’ve done enough for all of us.”

He had returned from checking in on the trenches, sparing just a few precious moments to check on Rey, who had so bravely given herself up for the Resistance and barely made it out alive. She had not yet relayed her story to him, but Luke could tell that she had been through a lot in those few short hours. Finn, Rose, and Poe had not returned yet either, which Luke found to be troubling. He would have thought that at least Finn would have come back to check on her if his attention wasn’t needed elsewhere.

Standing up, his thoughts headed to the tunnel that was a way out. “But I need to go back to help,” he told her.

* * *

Leia thought she was about to do something reckless when she looked at the lone ski speeder that was still sitting in the hangar. 

The Resistance would protest if she told anyone her plan; they believed that losing her would mean their end. But Leia knew better. They would move on without her if it came to it. The Resistance was full of young hearts with the fire and the drive to see their goal through.

She had driven one of these decades ago with the Rebellion after she had accidently stumbled upon the base. Her father had been incredibly unhappy with her discovery, for then he could not keep her in the dark about her family’s support for the cause. Bail Organa had wanted to keep his daughter safe for as long as she could, but even he could not have stopped her stubbornness and her knack for getting into trouble.

But in a way, the young soldiers of the Resistance were like her children. She had watched them grow into the fine, brave fighters that they were. Some of them, she had even known from their infancy. She could not be prouder of them.

She wished she could say the same about the child she had given birth to. Their fate as a family had been cruel. She and Han had loved their son as much as a parent could, and yet, it seemed that love had simply not been enough. If someone had told her that her happy-go-lucky, cheerful toddler would grow up to betray his family and follow in his grandfather’s footsteps, Leia would have never believed it. Yet here she was.

For many families, a child was a way to ensure that his parents legacy would live on in some shape or form. Leia and Han had not expected their son to take up politics or smuggling, but when he was born, they were convinced that their child was a bright future for the galaxy, like so many parents thought upon their first gaze at their offspring. 

When Luke had contacted her years ago to tell her that her son had murdered his students and joined the First Order, she and Han had felt a chill of disbelief that turned into depression and numbness. She had already worked to bring down the First Order by creating the Resistance, but now the battle had been brought home. Suddenly, she found herself in a role that she never thought she would ever be in. A son was lost to her and in his place a monster arose. First, she had grieved as if her son had died – in a way, he _had_ for Leia knew that Ben would never walk through the doors of home again. She told no one of what had happened to him, allowing them to speculate his disappearance. It was better than facing the families of those he had killed, believing herself to have failed as a mother and knowing that the people that had loved Luke’s students the most would see her as such.

Then, she had to grieve with the galaxy, for the man that replaced her son terrified her as much as the people he had terrorized himself. She was one of the few people to know what exactly was behind that mask, who would stare back at her if she was to remove it. Darth Vader had haunted her dreams and made her nightmares a reality, but knowing that she had raised a man that idolized him, after telling her son of all the suffering that he had caused the galaxy, seemed to be the greatest pain that she had ever faced. 

Leia knew that even if she and Han had offered Ben forgiveness and he returned home, he would still have to answer for many crimes – murder, for one. When she really thought it through, she realized that even if her son came home, he would never actually return to her and likely be locked away for the rest of his life. The moment that she had felt Han leave this life, she knew what had happened and she never entertained the idea of reuniting with her son again. That cheerful little boy that she raised no longer existed.

Her legacy was up to her now. The galaxy would always remember her for her service in the Rebellion and her hand in the creation of the New Republic, but it would also now remember her for being the child of Darth Vader and the mother of Kylo Ren.

She buckled herself up in the speeder and stopped, seated and waiting for anything that might tell her if she should proceed with this plan or not. Some of the bravest people that she had ever known had just volunteered again to risk their lives for a gambit that might not pay off. And, she grimaced, the likelihood that the First Order would not stop their pursuit there was great. Staying here would only mean more volunteers would die.

The transports had been given additional fuel, enough to let them make a jump into hyperpace and get away if they needed to. She could make that call right now if she wanted to; she could call back her troops before more of them died.

Reaching down to grasp the fabric of her dress, Leia took a deep breath, knowing that she was deliberately choosing to lose one battle to win the war. Then she spoke into her comm, making the order that she should have called before the speeders launched.

* * *

Back out in the field, the speeders swiftly approached the walkers which were heavily guarding the cannon. Poe did not want to sacrifice another life, but he knew that unfortunately it could come to that.

From the trenches, he saw a flash of green in the corner of his eye and whooped with amazement that Luke Skywalker was giving the Resistance a fighting chance.

Another group of TIEs could be seen overhead. Poe knew that they’d have to try to do like they did the last time they went out. 

The _Millennium Falcon_ zoomed overhead. Poe had been able to convince Chewbacca to be a distraction. It would be hard to fly without a copilot, but the wookie was sure that he could do it.

“Hold them until they pull out the cannon!”

To his left, Finn watched as the TIEs went straight over his head and began to approach the trenches. The troops were more vulnerable there, maybe the TIEs had been given orders to disregard the obvious distraction that the speeders had been. He then peered through his dusty windscreen and tried to see what was ahead.

The cannon was just ahead of him, about a half a mile, by his guess. If they could just keep going…

“Pull off!” Poe shouted into his coms.

 _“What?”_ He couldn’t believe his ears. They were right in front of it.

“Look up,” Rose warned.

Doing as she told him, Finn craned his neck to get a better view for what was above him and he groaned in disbelief when he saw what was coming after them. Another group of TIEs, these ones not taking the bait to trail after the _Falcon,_ were heading right towards them.

The ski speeders began to split formation again. Poe ordered them to turn back. 

“Leia’s called for a mass evacuation,” he said. “A lot of the First Order had to flee to regroup elsewhere when you guys destroyed the _Supremacy,”_ Poe explained further. “They left huge gaps in their fleet,” he explained. “We can get out, I’m sure.”

Finn sighed and nodded. To be honest, this came as a relief to him. The Resistance could keep fighting, but the First Order would too. They would be fighting until no one was left.

But as Finn turned his speeder, Rose spotted a TIE fighter in their area, swooping down upon Finn’s speeder and waiting to get a perfect shot in.

“No, Finn! The TIE’s got you locked on!”

Rose was driving the speeder on instinct now.

She pushed the throttle on her speeder to get it to fly full speed ahead, passing Finn. Then she made a sharp turn and moved herself right in front of him. To avoid hitting her, Finn swerved to his left, skidding in circles but getting out of the way. 

The TIE put its focus on her. She tried maneuvering her speeder into random patterns to throw it off, but even she would admit that the First Order trained their pilots well. 

Rose knew that the TIE landed a hit on her when the speeder wildly shook and jolted her forward, almost out of her seat. Heat rose around her, surrounding her. Something made contact with her right shoulder blade.

Pain. Searing pain.

Then the speeder made impact with the ground and continued to skid forward.

At some point, the speeder came to a stop, but she didn’t realize it until she heard sound that sounded far away and was growing closer. A scraping sound that sounded close by made her a little more aware but the pain in her head and shoulders and the rest of her made it too hard for her to focus on anything.

“Rose?” 

Her name was the first thing she finally registered and she realized that Finn had pulled open the speeder hatch and was trying to get her out of the wreckage. 

When she forced her eyes open, she found it was hard to keep them open. The light reflecting off the white salt was blinding but she could see a faint cloud of smoke rising up behind her. If he couldn’t get her out soon, smoke inhalation was definitely going to be a worry for the both of them.

“Why’d you do it, Rose?” he asked as he tried to triage her out. 

She tried to say something, but she couldn’t tell if her words were making any sense to him or if she was making sound at all.

There was something she wanted to tell him, but she wasn’t sure if she’d ever get the chance to now. Rose knew that she was bleeding pretty badly, judging by how wet her clothes were feeling on her right side. There was probably shrapnel lodged in her shoulder too.

But she managed to hoarsely pant out, “N-nothing wrong with… w-wanting to protect s-someone you care about, right?” She gave him a weak smile.

Her head felt funny and it took all her strength to lean up and keep her head from wobbling to one side so that she could kiss him. It was gentle and too early in their relationship for this to happen, she knew this even in her current state, but she was hoping that Finn would understand that she was trying to thank him for everything he had done because she might not get another chance to.

When she pulled away, she saw double Finns staring down at her with a confused look on his face. He was not smiling, but he did look sorrowful as she fell back into the seat of the cockpit and her vision went spotty to black once again. 

She thought she heard him say her name, but it sounded far away as her consciousness faded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally, I had a completely different idea for Leia in this chapter. Then I thought it through better and found a few potential plot holes with the idea and had started to read up on mental health of parents whose children have committed serious crimes such as murder. It made me see a new side to Leia as a character that makes her situation very complex and I felt that this fit for the story better than my original idea.
> 
> I've heard of the speculation of Leia being recast for IX. It might happen, maybe even to have her briefly featured to have an event to write her off for good. Had it been me, I would have changed the plot around after Carrie Fisher's death to reshoot certain scenes in January 2017 and rearrange footage in response to her death. However, she is currently alive in the Poe Dameron comic, so I am matching this rewrite to the post-TLJ canon materials.


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hux schemes. The Supreme Leader falls. Kylo Ren chooses his destiny.

When the Supreme Leader summoned him from his medical care less than six hours after he had lost part of his arm, Kylo Ren knew immediately that his time was up. He had failed again, and Snoke did not want to bother with him getting fitted with a mecho arm before he disposed of his apprentice.

He had been given no pain medications and the stump of his arm was wrapped simply with bandages and gauze. The nice thing about lightsabers, at least, was that they both cut through muscle and bone cleanly while also cauterizing the wound and keeping blood loss to a minimum. It was a nice little reminder of the unworthy scavenger girl and her ability to exploit his weaknesses. She probably thought herself clever because she had somehow figured out that he had tried to use the link between their minds to force her to show her location to him. Skywalker probably warned her, and Ren lost the chance to kill him on Crait, too. Had he ignored the girl’s pleas, confident in knowing that she was walking into a trap, he might have been able to kill them both. No, instead, he betted on the Supreme Leader killing her, leaving Skywalker to him for later, and they both managed to walk away from their encounters with the First Order alive. Ren and Rey had been playing games with each other up until she walked into the throne room, but now that those games had ended, Ren felt only rage when he thought of her.

 _Rey,_ a girl with no last name and no heritage to speak of. She had nothing to fuel her ability in the Force, yet it was obvious that she had become his replacement. His uncle obviously felt some sense of pride for her, but Ren could not figure out why. If she was being dubbed as the galaxy’s next hope, he would see that she would never live to see that expectation through.

Which is why he finally figured out what he needed to do. The dark side had led him down this path for a reason, the Supreme Leader had told him that the dark side always had a plan. Ren would make sure he trusted that darkness to lead him to his destiny.

Reaching for his lightsaber, which he had been able to call back to him as he fled the burning _Supremacy,_ Ren knew that he could not keep the Snoke waiting any longer.

* * *

The _Finalizer_ had been the Star Destroyer which the Supreme Leader had been transferred to. Each of the First Order’s largest craft had been fitted with facilities that met Snoke’s needs, but most people had believed that the _Supremacy_ was too big to take down and that these facilities would never be needed.

Well, the Resistance saw to _that_ illusion. 

Kylo Ren waited as the guards let him in the temporary throne room. Unlike the one on the _Supremacy,_ it paled in comparison to size and its walls were just as dark and metallic as the rest of the ship. There was no sense of grandeur to the room, just the metal framework of practicality.

Snoke made no expression when his apprentice approached him and kneeled to him.

“I am sorry, Master,” Ren said simply, knowing that nothing he said would make Snoke forgive him for his failure.

Snoke grunted. “It seems that I must question your place here,” he said. “The Resistance was in our grasp. The last Jedi were in our grasp. And you let them slip between our fingers.”

“I apologize, Master,” Ren said again.

“Your lightsaber,” requested Snoke.

Kylo Ren stood up from his spot and unclipped the lightsaber from his belt. He took a couple of steps forward and held it out to his master as an offering. Using the Force, Snoke lifted it and brought it towards himself and sat it next to him on the throne.

Observing the Supreme Leader’s blue eyes, Ren could tell that he was looking into the future. Already, there had been so much that Snoke had not foreseen, making Ren wonder if visions really held much weight in ruling the galaxy after all. He had not seen Rey in his visions until she became a part of the First Order’s reality. He had not seen her refuse the dark side or leave the _Supremacy_ alive.

The Supreme Leader might have once been a mighty force and ally to the First Order, but now he was old and relying on half-formed visions of the future to keep himself alive. By any standard on this Star Destroyer, he had simply outlived his usefulness.

And maybe, if Ren played his cards right, he could influence those visions with a mere thought.

He allowed his hate for Rey to overtake him. Ren imagined himself igniting his lightsaber and runner her through with it, the crimson color matching the blood the spurted from her mouth after impact. The image was satisfying. He sought revenge, and this was how he imagined it.

Snoke looked at him curiously. “Perhaps,” he said, “the Force still has use for you.” He paused as he watched another vision. “Yes,” he commented. “I see you turning the lightsaber to strike true. You ignite it, and it kills your true enemy.”

But Snoke had no idea that while his apprentice was projecting this rage to influence the visions, he was actually rotating the hilt of his lightsaber resting on the throne’s arm towards his master. In his imagination, he replaced Snoke with an image of Rey. He hated them both and both of them would die by his hand, but it had to be one at a time. This took quite some skill to achieve, but he managed to keep his image of Rey in his head while moving the lightsaber through the Force so that Snoke would not suspect anything.

And his foolish old master was falling for that vision.

With a slight movement of his fingers, Ren ignited the lightsaber and speared his master straight through his side. A look of shock appeared on Snoke’s face as he glanced down at his torso, obviously beginning to register the pain.

Ren did not need to hold the fake vision any longer. 

With another movement of his fingers, the saber cut right through Snoke’s middle, leaving him in two pieces while the lightsaber returned to its master’s hand.

The Praetorians watched on, emitting shock into the Force, but they only stood by. The guards were there to protect the Supreme Leader from the majority, from non-Force-users or to fight when the Supreme Leader demanded it. They had no orders to fulfill if the Supreme Leader died and were not able to protect him when he was the most vulnerable. Like their master, they were not able to see his sudden death coming.

And if the Supreme Leader fell, someone was to replace him. Who better than the one that had been trained by him and slain him? The Sith once followed the rule that only two of their own would ever exist at one time: a master and an apprentice. When the time came, one would kill the other, either to replace the old master or to survive. Ren was simply following in their footsteps. Had his grandfather survived his encounter with the Emperor and the light, he might have assumed power to rule the galaxy on his own. Ren was simply now surpassing him in that power.

And by the way the guards stood by, watching him under matte red visors, they seemed to know what exactly Kylo Ren’s intent was.

He walked up to the throne and pushed Snoke’s half of body out of the way. It plopped to the floor with a dull _thunk_ as Ren took the seat.

“Call General Hux.” There was a smirk on Ren’s face when he made the order.

* * *

When Hux arrived into the throne room he was greeted with a sight that made him drop his mouth open and gape.

The Supreme Leader was lying in two halves, one half flung to the side, the other, his _top half,_ at the foot of the throne. And the person sitting on that throne was the one person that Hux hoped he would never see on it.

What was even worse was that this was an unseen barrier that now threatened all the plans that Hux had made. The First Order was strong, but it could be stronger with the right leader at its helm. The older members, the ones that had been around since the Order’s rise were getting in the way of progress. They didn’t like change and they still cling to the old ethics and ideology of the Empire. 

The loss of the _Supremacy_ has gotten some of those people out of the way for Hux, but there were still quite a few others that remained. Their loss came with the blow of losing research and development facilities and long-awaited results with it.

Snoke had been strong, but he had lacked in leadership. However, Hux found that while Snoke believed he had all the power, this also meant that he had been easy to control. Snoke did not care much for reports on weapons breakthrough or finance, he had been more interested in battles and the Force and this left so many doors open for Hux to get through and hold complete control.

Seeing Kylo Ren sit on the throne told Hux exactly what his plan was and suddenly, Hux was stricken with dread. Snoke was controllable, but Kylo Ren certainly is not. His emotions often controlled his actions, and he obviously did not care much for leadership. Ren had made a great extension of the First Order’s power, he terrified the worlds that they had conquered, but as a Supreme Leader, he would falter and take the First Order with him.

Somehow, Ren had to be removed from the picture.

Too bad that scavenger girl hadn’t finished him off. He knew what had happened between them below the deck of the _Supremacy._

“What happened?” he finally asked.

“The Supreme Leader is dead. I have surpassed him in my training and now the apprentice has become the master. It is as the Force wills it.”

The two men regarded each other. It was not secret that they hated one another. They often got in the way of each other’s schemes. Ren would ruin Hux’s plans by not sticking to his ordered actions. Hux would ruin Ren’s by using the First Order and real sense of protocol to rein him in.

Snoke and Ren had played a game with each other, but its ending move was a given. Their game was based around a struggle of power between the two of them and their own survival. One of them was going to die in the end. While Hux very well knew that the game that they were playing now might have a similar ending, it was a far more complex game. Kylo Ren was feared, yes, but he did not have the same level of respect that the First Order held for Hux. Kylo Ren could not simply kill everyone in the First Order that he did not control because even a one-man army with such power through the Force could not fight the whole galaxy alone.

But there were the other Knights of Ren…

“Call them,” Ren ordered, knowing exactly what Hux was thinking about.

Kylo Ren never had interest in the First Order. He only was here because of Snoke and the offer of the dark side. It was obvious that Ren did not uphold the goals and mission of the Order the way a leader should.

And that man was sitting on the throne was now in that position.

Hux would have to play their game a bit longer. He would have to if he wanted to survive to see his plans be enacted. He kneeled to the ground.

“Long live the Supreme Leader.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I will say this:
> 
> I like writing Kylo Ren; I like him as a villain. My issue with writing him is that we don't have a clear motive for him, which makes a plot for him tricky to create without completely disregarding canon, which was not my goal of this fic. This was why I chose not to include many scenes focusing on him. The only possible motive that we have for him is that he wants to end the Jedi for good (maybe even believing that he is the dark side's new chosen one). The problem that I have with this is that with Luke gone, Rey is the only one left and she's not really a Jedi yet, just aligns with them. Say he does kill her, thus meeting his goal, then what? It's specifically stated in multiple sources that Kylo Ren has never been that interested in leading anyone or is really that interested in the First Order. Does he then act like another puppet leader (I doubt he'd let anyone do that) or does he, what, lounge around the pool while ignoring everything else?
> 
> This is why TLJ (and ultimately Kylo Ren's character) feels so weak to me. Not much was expanded on anywhere, if the plot elements hadn't been discarded completely. Fans had to go to tie-in materials to get a better sense on anything that was going on or relying on fan metas, sometimes going as far as making up events and facts to the point that many people are confused on what's real to the canon and what isn't. The novelization even gives foreshadowing to the next film (if JJ Abrams decides to go this route) for the future and possible beginnings of a downfall for the First Order involving Ren and Hux, but none of this is ever mentioned in the film. That was almost the only real sense of foreshadowing we are given, too. 
> 
> Rant over. I will continue to enjoy playing as Kylo Ren in Battlefront II.
> 
> Next chapter:
> 
> The end.


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The end.

_Location: Crait_

The aftermath of Crait began to set in as the Resistance began to load up for evacuation.

The one thing that Rey hated most about being stuck in the medbay during the fight was that she had to sit around and worry about everyone. She had no idea where anyone was or had any idea if they were still alive. Even exhaustion could not lull her into sleep while she waited; there was just too much going on around her and the sense of fear that emitted off so many made her jittery.

Chewbacca and his porg friend returned with the _Millennium Falcon_ after outrunning and outmaneuvering all the TIEs that he was trying to distract. The porg had stayed sitting in Rey’s lap, shaking and looking around the medbay wide-eyed and frantic until she caught sight of the Wookie again. Rey heaved a sigh with relief when she saw him land the _Falcon_ with no evidence of damage to himself or the ship. They were going to use the freighter as an extra vessel to house the Resistance in and they needed it preferably in one piece.

Luke was the next to return from the battlefield, looking a little winded, but not any worse for wear. The last Jedi had proved his worth to the Resistance by helping them in the trenches. He had protected many by deflecting oncoming blasts from stormtroopers and walkers with his lightsaber.

“I’m a little rusty,” he admitted to her. “Next time, I won’t seem like such an old man.”

Soldiers did fall in the trenches, but not in the numbers that they originally anticipated. The arrival of the _Millennium Falcon_ and her crew had tipped the scales of battle. Rey wondered if Luke felt guilt over the deaths in the trenches after not returning as strong as ever. He couldn’t protect everyone, but he may have thought he could have done more.

Then they witnessed a reunion between two very old friends and couldn’t help but smile.

R2-D2 rolled clumsily through the mine until he got to C-3PO. He beeped something to get the gold-plated service droid’s attention.

“Oh!” C-3PO exclaimed. “Artoo! Such a friend.” His tone suggested affection, more than what Rey would have ever thought possible for a droid. She knew the two of them had been together for a very long time, longer than Luke had known them, and it touched her heart to see after all these years that they were still together.

Rey, Luke, Chewbacca and all the droids, including BB-8 moved to the ski speeder hangar and awaited the return of their friends. Already there, Leia stood quietly as she held vigil over the opened hangar door that overlooked the salt field. She looked concerned, and Rey, in turn grew nervous as she realized that all the people in the Resistance that she knew was out there. Waiting was painful, at least if she had gone out with them, she would not have had to wait to find out the fate of her friends.

They waited for ten minutes before they caught sight of the speeders in the distance heading back in their direction. Chewbacca waved at them and made a growl of victory when they got close.

But Rey’s heart sank when she saw no sign of Finn or Rose.

“Where are they?” Rey asked Poe when he exited the speeder. Her voice shook and the stress from the last couple of hours combined with this new fear threatened to have her burst into tears on the spot.

To her right, Leia stood by, horrified by Rey’s sudden display of anxiety and wondered if she had made her call too late. The transports were already being loaded with officers, but the volunteers that took the speeders were to all be placed on the Falcon. Leia had thought it would give Rey and Finn a chance to be together again while Rey also got the chance to get to know the people that she had just met. It would be nice for her to be with people again, being on an isolated island for days after spending years even more isolated on Jakku. 

But no one had to answer Rey because Chewbacca growled to tell them that he could see a speeder approaching the hangar lift. It was gliding across the landscape at a slower pace, and Rey noticed how the driver eased off the throttle as they approached the hangar to make their breaking gentle.

Poe ran out to the ledge, looking over to get a glimpse of the speeder. With a startle, he returned inside with a cry of, “Get help! Get help!”

The speeder was brought in and was securely parked before Finn frantically leaped out. Rey rushed over to him, panicked when she saw that his clothes were stained with blood. 

“Finn! Finn!” she cried. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s Rose. She’s hurt. We need a medic.”

A little bit of relief washed over Rey when she realized that Finn was okay, but then she looked in the cockpit and felt queasy at the sight. The relief that Finn’s return gave her quickly evaporated.

Rose Tico lay unconscious in the cockpit, but she was bleeding heavily from her shoulders. Rey surmised that she had been in a crash, but Rey also worried that Rose might not survive much longer without medical attention. She was losing a lot of blood in a very short time. From the look at the gash along the side of her head, peeking out from under her hairline and brushing up against her ear, she may have also hit her head.

The medics had a hard time getting Rose out of the cockpits, unsure if she even should be moved at all. However, the evacuation order had been made and there was no good way to treat her. If they didn’t move her, Rose would not leave Crait alive.

As they watched Rose be carted away, Finn leaned into Rey and sniffled. Rey placed her arm around his waist and squeezed his side a little. Poe joined them and wrapped his arm around Finn’s shoulders. No one made a sound as they waited for the hangar to be cleared enough for them to make their way to the _Falcon._

Rey, not someone that had ever turned to prayer before, reached out to the Force with her heart and found herself begging that Rose Tico would not die in these mines.

* * *

Finn, Rey, and Poe were on standby as they waited to be called to evacuate. They tried to help wherever they could, but they found themselves hovering around the medbay, hoping for news. The rumble of the First Order's attacks still vibrated through the mines, creating tension and a sense of urgency to evacuate. The moment the transports were ready to go, they would be loaded up and given the orders to escape.

A medic assistant called Rey to sit down so that he could replace the gauze and put a wrap around her injured arm. However, he was so overwhelmed with all the injured that Finn decided to step in and offer to help with Rey’s injury.

“It’s just putting a wrap around her arm, right?” he asked the assistant. “I can do that.” Rey guessed that he wanted to do it since the task would also give him something else to think about. 

The medic thanked him and sat a small package of pills next to Rey on the cot with orders from Dr. Kalonia that once she settled on her designated evacuation transport, that Rey take them as instructed; the pills would help her sleep. Finn could also have them too, if he needed it, the medic noted. He just needed to ask. 

Finn was gentle when cleaning around the gash on her arm and wrapping it up again. When she winced from the twinge of pain that shot down her nerves, Finn stopped and placed his hand on her shoulder, rubbing her skin softly with his fingers as if to apologize.

When he had finished his work, Finn discarded the used gauze and wipe and returned to sit down on Rey’s other side. She leaned into him, tired, and sighed.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

He smiled quietly. “It’s nothing.”

They rested for a bit, saying nothing and just enjoying the warmth and comfort provided before Rey decide to ask, “Finn, what happened to her?”

He sighed. “I was very stupid, Rey. _Very_ stupid and she’s like that because of me.”

There was something else to that response, Rey sensed, but she decided to let the thought go for now. Whatever it was, it was bothering him and likely that reliving the experience to tell her what had happened would be too much in too short of time. She didn’t ask him anything more, deciding that right now, she really didn’t want to know. Rey had the terrible image in her mind of Finn being in Rose’s place or worse, simply never returning from the salt fields. And for whatever reason, she could not shake the image away. It made her feel awful that her focus of her thoughts and fears were solely on Finn while Rose was the one that had been brought back half-dead.

Dr. Kalonia emerged from where she was working on Rose, covered in blood. She glanced at the pair of them and Finn stood up, brushed his hand against Rey’s uninjured arm, and went over to talk to the doctor.

It was a few more minutes before someone took Finn’s vacated spot. Poe Dameron sat gently down next to her.

“Any news?” he asked her.

Rey shook her head in a negative and Poe’s face dropped.

“I see.” He was quiet for a few moments, then, “I talked to the Vice Admiral,” he said.

“What did she say?” Rey asked curiously. 

“We’re all going to be on the _Falcon_ together. You, me, and Finn.”

“That’ll be nice.”

“Oh, and I’ve been promoted to Lieutenant Colonel.”

She almost wanted to snort with how casual he added that in. In any other occasion, Rey knew that this would have had a happier meaning and be a celebration of Poe’s accomplishments. But she knew better; the reason behind Poe’s promotion was because the Resistance had lost so many people in command. She decided not to bring that up either.

“Hey, Rey?” he asked.

“Yeah?”

“Finn told me a little bit about you and I was thinking…”

“Yeah?”

“Well, I was held captive by Kylo Ren, too. I think you and I have something in common there.”

She nodded, knowing what he was implying, and she could tell by Poe’s posture that this was a difficult subject for him to talk about. Finn had told her a little bit about Poe’s capture and their escape, before he admitted to being a former stormtrooper, but it sounded like Poe was not able to shake Kylo Ren from breaking into his mind like her.

“Well, anyway, I wanted to let you know that if you need to talk to anyone about that, the Resistance has bases with counselors. They might be able to help, you know?”

“Thank you for telling me that, Poe.” 

He smiled.

* * *

After Poe left to check on how the _Falcon’s_ preparations were going, Finn rejoined Rey.

They said they’ve done all they could,” he told her. Tears were shining in his eyes. “They’re worried that she’ll go into shock.”

Rey placed her hands against her face, covering her eyes. She took a deep breath. “There are blankets in the _Falcon,_ if she needs one.” It felt like a weak offer, but at least it was something and she could tell that Finn hated being able to do _nothing._

Finn perked up a little at that and reached to frame Rey’s face with his hands. He looked at her with gratitude before leaning in to touch their foreheads together. He held them there for a moment and took a deep breath before letting go and hurrying away.

Luke watched the moment from the distance and only approached Rey once she was alone. He didn’t want to intrude on anything private and it looked like the two of them needed each other at the moment.

“I’ve heard that you’re still in need of a last name,” he said. 

It was an odd subject to bring up, considering everything that was going on, but Rey nodded. 

“I suppose I can figure one out a little later,” she said.

“You could use the New Republic’s records,” Luke suggested. “They might help you figure out-"

“No, I don’t think I want to know who they are anymore.” A few days ago, she would have jumped at the opportunity. “My parents left me on Jakku and never returned for me like they promised. If they’re not dead, well, then they must not have really wanted me.”

It made her sad to think this, but she also knew that there was some truth to it. She spent her whole life waiting for an empty promise to be fulfilled. She might have waited her entire life for them if BB-8 had never turned up near her AT-AT. Her life might have ended lonely and unfulfilled, just like the image she saw in the cave on Ahch-To.

Luke shifted his eyes away from her, a little awkwardly, before speaking again. “Or you could use _Skywalker,”_ he suggested.

Rey looked him straight in the eye, realizing he was serious. “But I’m not-"

“It’s not the bloodline,” interrupted Luke. “It’s the legacy. I never had a child of my own, but I would like to think that if I did, they would have been like you.”

“I failed to kill Snoke,” she pointed out.

“What you did was give the Resistance a chance,” he said. “You didn’t give up on me, you didn’t give up the fight, that’s what matters. Besides, who am I to judge? I ran after Darth Vader before I was ready and came out a lot worse than you did.”

“Can you tell me about that sometime?” she asked. There was a lot that Luke had to tell her still, about the Force, his life and adventures, and his family. Rey had just begun to realize that her time with him had only merely scratched the surface of knowing him and learning all that he had seen.

Luke smiled. “Of course.”

* * *

Rose was going to be kept on the _Raddus_ where Dr. Kalonia could keep an eye on her and Leia would also remain on board, promising that she would communicate Rose’s condition to the _Falcon_ whenever she could. Before she boarded, however, she called for Rey.

“My brother is going to stay on the _Raddus_ with me,” she said. “I trust you can keep Finn and Dameron occupied and out of trouble?”

Rey smirked a little. She could already guess that Poe could be a handful, especially when he had to wait on something to happen. She hoped that he would get some sleep, at the very least.

It was Finn that she was more worried about. They would get in touch with the medbay as often as they could, but Rey worried that Finn would wear himself out from worrying while waiting for news on Rose. At this point, no one had any idea if she would live or not. There were too few of supplies and not any of the kind that she needed. And Finn obviously blamed himself for being the reason why she was like this.

Reaching into her bag, Rey removed the two halves of the lightsaber and showed them to Leia. She hadn’t told Luke yet, knowing that this lightsaber was once his.

Leia smiled as Rey put them back into her bag. “I know what you’re thinking, but don’t worry. The Resistance and the Jedi will live on.”

“But can we even rebuild the Resistance now?” Rey asked as she looked around the loading dock of the _Raddus._ So many volunteers had been lost and their supplies were limited. How could they stand a chance against the First Order like this?

Another smile. “We have everything we need.”

* * *

When Rey lowered the ramp to the _Falcon_ to let the Resistance members on, she watched as some of them stared at her in awe like she was their savior. She wondered if Luke experienced this when he was young and in the Rebellion. It made her uncomfortable. Barely three full days of training and without a lightsaber, Rey was no closer to being a Jedi than she was when she started her journey. 

Another thought struck her as she stared out to the horizon knowing that somewhere, Kylo Ren might be out there. The next time they met, there would be no more attempt to convince the other to turn to the other side. They had tried to play their games with each other, but the time for games was over and the real war was just beginning.

She remembered what Snoke said about connecting their minds together and she focused to try to figure out if it was still true. She could see the image of Kylo Ren so clear in her mind. A face full of anger and rage and a desire for power. He was marching down a corridor, followed by a small squad of Stormtroopers, likely in a First Order Star Destroyer.

As if he sensed her, he turned around, looking in the direction that she would be if she was physically there. He stared at her, waiting for what she would do.

Yes, that connection was still there, even if she was only just now fully aware of it. It made her a liability to the Resistance if it remained intact.

She stared at him blankly, not afraid of him and not feeling an ounce of care for him. Once, she might have pitied him, but now she realized that he deserved no one’s pity, especially after she glanced at what was left of his arm. She hoped that whatever he was doing, whatever he was trying to fulfill, that he would be miserable doing it.

Then she focused on their connection. Imagined it like a string pull taught and that if she tugged on it hard enough, the string would come apart.

When she severed that connection, the image of him faded and she could not feel that looming presence of him anymore. Good riddance.

She turned around and began to move up the ramp. Finn and Poe were waiting for her at top, glancing at her curiously.

“What was that about?” Finn asked.

“Nothing,” she lied. That connection was one thing she hoped that she would never have to tell him. “Just… thinking, I guess.” She decided to change the subject to something that would seem like a believable topic that held her thoughts. “Luke offered me his name. His last name.”

There seemed to be an initial state of shock between the two before it quickly faded. Poe hummed. _“Rey Skywalker._ Got a nice sound to it.”

Finn nodded in agreement. “You gonna take it?”

With a shrug, she sighed. “I’m not sure yet.”

“Your parents?” Finn knew how important getting back to Jakku was once to her; how important it was that she stayed put so that her parents could find her. He probably thought she was still trying to hold out in the hopes that she would find them and get her real family name.

She shook her head. “No. The time for that is over, I think. It’s time for me to move on. I’ve got a family right here now.” This thought made her smile. On Jakku, she had heard the concept of creating your own family, but she never understood what that actually felt like and meant until now. It was nice.

Poe clapped Finn on the back. “Yeah, buddy. It’s time to start figuring out what your last name is. It’s gonna be hard enough to tag either of you on the Resistance databases to get you clearance everywhere. You both just can’t be Finn and Rey no-name, after all.”

Finn smiled sadly. “I guess…” Rey could sense there was something he was thinking about but didn’t want to bring up. She knew the First Order stole children, but she wondered how much Finn knew about his origins. It might be that he knew more than he wanted to let on. Maybe he believed that trying would prove to be a fruitless attempt. Rey understood that sentiment too.

She helped Chewbacca fly the _Falcon_ out of Crait’s atmosphere, plugging in the coordinates that Poe had given her. Vice Admiral Holdo knew of a place they could go to in the Outer Rim, another Resistance base, where it would be safe to regroup.

Now, Rey wanted to take those pills and sleep. 

She searched for a place to lie down until Finn called her name and she looked over to find that he and Poe and created an area for the three of to settle down at, away from the other Resistance members that had been situated on the freighter. They looked like they could only get one blanket and a few pillows, but she also noticed that Finn had sat her bag with her outerwear out next to him. BB-8 was also beside him, settling next to the charge port. She plopped down next to him and took out the packet of pills that she had placed in her pocket.

“Now what?” she asked.

“Now you sleep,” said Finn, he reached over to hand her a bottle of water.

“You both should too,” Rey insisted after she swallowed one of the sleep aids.

“We will,” said Poe, who was settled on Finn’s other side. “We’ll rest, and eat, and heal. In a few days, we’ll get to a base and regroup. We’ll train and we’ll fight again.”

Rey lay on her side, facing Finn, and curled up. Already, she was ready to sleep. She closed her eyes.

“We are the spark that will light the fire that will burn the First Order to the ground.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew. It's done. It's complete. It's over. What a ride. But I proved to myself that I could write a long multi-chapter fic without abandoning it!
> 
> I'll probably come back next week to clean up the tags on this fic. After that, however, I am done with this story forever.
> 
> A few final notes:
> 
> The reason why I did not have Luke "vanish into the Force" is because after Carrie Fisher's death, I felt like it was a poor choice to kill Luke off. The problem is now that the original trio is canonically and/or really dead and that leaves us with the new trio, which sadly do not feel developed enough or established enough as a group at this point to really hold up the Resistance. I am glad, however, to hear that JJ Abrams will bring back Lando (probably, still technically an unconfirmed rumor).
> 
> Lastly, I want to thank my readers that have followed this story from the beginning, sending me words of encouragement to get this story finished, providing insight to how to deal with certain plot points, and laughing with me over all the hate comments and messages that I was left. There are, sadly, a lot of truly hateful people in the world that do not see themselves for what they are (or simply do not care) and do not understand that their beliefs and actions are hurting others despite how much they protest this. I understand this because I was once a lot like them and wanted to ignore my imperfections and mistakes. I wish for them the best and to one day get the experience that they need to learn and grow to become better people.


End file.
